Our style of play changed with Salah – Trabzonspor coach Fatih Tekke after Kasimpasa clash

Trabzonspor head coach Fatih Tekke has admitted that Mohamed Salah’s presence has changed the team’s style of play after the Turkish side were held to a 1-1 draw by Kasimpasa in their opening league match of the 2026/27 season.

Salah made his competitive debut for Trabzonspor after coming on in the 57th minute at the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Stadium.

Despite his introduction, Trabzonspor could not secure all three points, with Tekke expressing disappointment over his team’s performance and insisting they must improve ahead of a demanding schedule.

“We showed that we were not prepared. We played better than I expected in the first half. We should have decided the match in that half,” Tekke said.

Trabzonspor failed to capitalize on their first-half opportunities before Kasimpasa found a way back into the game.

“In the second half, we equalized from a penalty kick after a terrible mistake, and we also had good opportunities in the last minutes,” the coach added.

Tekke also acknowledged the tactical impact of Salah, who is expected to become a key figure in Trabzonspor’s attacking setup.

“Our style of play is slightly different with Mohamed Salah compared to when we play without him,” he said.

The Trabzonspor boss believes his team still has several areas to improve and called for greater intensity and control in their upcoming fixtures.

“We have some things to complete. We should have been more enthusiastic. We didn’t get all the points because of the mistake we made. We need to control the game more,” Tekke explained.

The draw left Tekke frustrated, but he was quick to acknowledge Kasımpaşa’s efforts.

“What happened today is disappointing, but we must congratulate Kasımpaşa. Our match today was disappointing; we failed and we must admit that,” he said.

Trabzonspor now face a difficult run of fixtures, beginning with their Europa League play-off first leg against Ferencváros next Thursday.

“Next Thursday we will play a very important European match. The opponent is much stronger and a difficult match awaits us,” Tekke warned.

He also identified Başakşehir as another difficult opponent awaiting his side and urged his players to immediately put the Kasımpaşa result behind them.

“Next we have the Başakşehir match, all of them are difficult matches, we will prepare for them all. Tomorrow we have to forget what happened in today’s match and focus on preparing,” he said.

“We must continue the journey, what is coming will probably be more difficult.”

Trabzonspor will host Ferencváros in the first leg of their Europa League play-off next Thursday, with Tekke now tasked with preparing his side for another demanding test.