Konyaspor head coach İlhan Palut has revealed that his side focused more on stopping Super Eagles striker Paul Onuachu than Liverpool star Mohamed Salah ahead of their 1-0 Turkish Super Lig victory over Trabzonspor.
Palut explained that although Konyaspor had great respect for Salah, their preparations centred on preventing Onuachu from receiving dangerous service.
“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 after the match.
The coach praised the performances of Onuachu and Trabzonspor defender Ryan Baniya but said his players successfully prevented the Nigerian striker from making an impact.
“At some moments, we could not do what we wanted, but we did not give Onuachu a chance to hit effectively,” he added.
An early goal from Hungarian midfielder Rajmund Toth was enough to give Konyaspor victory and end their run of four consecutive league defeats at the start of the season.
The result also gave Konyaspor revenge for their Turkish Cup final defeat to Trabzonspor in May.
Onuachu started the match and played all 90 minutes but struggled to influence the game. The Nigerian finished without a shot and recorded only 15 touches, with just two coming inside Konyaspor’s penalty area.
His quiet outing came after he had scored twice in Trabzonspor’s previous league match against Gençlerbirliği.
The 32-year-old had passed a late fitness test before the Konyaspor game after recovering from an injury suffered in that previous fixture.
Despite the setback, Onuachu is expected to remain in contention for Nigeria’s squad when Super Eagles head coach Éric Chelle names his players for the upcoming 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
.
advertisement
He will have another opportunity to respond when Trabzonspor host Victor Osimhen’s Galatasaray next weekend.
Palut’s comments have meanwhile added an interesting twist to the debate around the attacking threat posed by Onuachu and Salah, with the Konyaspor coach making it clear that his tactical priority was stopping the Nigerian striker.