Onuachu a Bigger Threat Than Salah, Says Coach

Paul Onuachu of Trabzonspor waved to his fans after they celebrated their victory following the Turkish Super Lig week 26 match against Caykur Rizespor at Papara Park in Trabzon, Turkiye, on March 14, 2026. Hakan Burak Altunoz / Anadolu (Photo by Hakan Burak Altunoz / Anadolu via AFP)

Konyaspor head coach İlhan Palut has said that his team focused more on stopping Super Eagles striker Paul Onuachu than on dealing with Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah’s threat. Konyaspor won the match 1-0 against Trabzonspor over the weekend.

After the Turkish Super Lig victory, Palut explained that they trained hard to cut off the supply to Onuachu. He considered the Nigerian a bigger threat than his teammate, the Egyptian player.

“We have great respect for Muhammad Salah. However, who did you train for? If you ask, we worked on the balls that came to Onuachu,” Palut said. “According to the other options we have, Onuachu and (Baniya) Ryan’s match was pretty good. The struggle was sometimes one-sided, sometimes more balanced. They both played well. At some moments, we could not do what we wanted, but we did not give Onuachu a chance to hit effectively.”

Hungarian midfielder Rajmund Toth scored an early goal that helped Konyaspor secure the victory. This win allowed Konyaspor to get back at Trabzonspor for their loss in the 2026 Turkish Cup final. It also ended Konyaspor’s four-game losing streak in the league this season.

Onuachu started the game and played the full 90 minutes but could not recreate the two-goal performance that saw Trabzonspor beat Konyaspor in the cup final back in May.

The Nigerian striker had a quiet game, finishing without a shot on target. He only managed 15 touches, with just two of those occurring inside the Konyaspor penalty area.

The 32-year-old was cleared to play after passing a late fitness test. He had just recovered from an injury he got during Trabzonspor’s last league match against Gençlerbirliği, where he scored his first two league goals of the season.

Onuachu is expected to be part of the Super Eagles squad when coach Eric Chelle names players for Nigeria’s important 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers later this month.

He will also be looking to get back to scoring when Trabzonspor faces Victor Osimhen’s Galatasaray next weekend. They hope to bounce back after the loss to Konyaspor.