The African stars played a part as the Black Red took a point away from the city of Rize on Saturday
Nigeria captain Ahmed Musa and former Morocco captain Medhi Benatia were on parade for Fatih Karagumruk in their goalless draw against Rizespor in a Turkish Super Lig encounter.
After scoring the match-winning goal for Francesco Farioli’s side in their opening league fixture last Saturday, Musa was stopped by the hosts at the Estadio Caykur Didi.
It was a cagey affair as the two teams struggled to find the back of the net and they settled to share the spoils.
Fatih Karagumruk managed just four shots on target during the encounter with Musa registering one while Jure Balkovec had the most (two).
Benatia, on his part, played a key role in the defence by making the most interceptions for Francesco Farioli’s side (three), though he did not complete any tackle before he was taken off.
The 34-year-old was later replaced in the 62nd minute as the Black Red maintained their unbeaten start to the season after two games.
In their quest to open their Super Lig goal account of the season, Rizespor threw Nigeria forward Aminu Umar into the fray in the 75th minute but he could not make a difference in the attack with no shot registered.
They only had a shot on target in the entire duration after they suffered a 3-0 loss against Besiktas last weekend.
The lone point powered Faith Karagumruk to the summit of the Turkish top-flight standings with four points after two games, pending the outcome of other games while Rizespor are 13th after picking up their first point of the campaign.
Musa has played every minute of Fatih Karagumruk’s Super Lig matches this season, and he will aim to return to the scoresheet when they host defending champions Besiktas for their next league fixture on August 28.
The former Leicester City forward moved to Turkey on a free transfer in July, which marked his return to Europe after his brief stint in the Nigeria Professional Football League with Kano Pillars.
He returned to Nigeria in April after he found it difficult to get a new club following his exit from Saudi Professional League club Al Nassr in October 2020.
Be the first to comment