Super Eagles forward Ahmed Musa started the 2022/23 Turkish Super Lig season on the bench as Fatih Karagumruk played hosts to Alanyaspor on Sunday evening.
The match was also Andrea Pirlo's first match in the Turkish league as coach of Fatih Karagumruk after the Italian legend took the reins during the summer.
However, both Musa and Pirlo started the season on the losing side, going down 4-2 to the visiting Alanyaspor at the Vefa Stadium in Istanbul.
Fatih Karagumruk lose to Alanyaspor on Pirlo debut
Fatih Karagumruk found themselves two goals down just 28 minutes into Pirlo's tenure after Wilson Eduardo (19') and Efkan Bekiroglu (28') scored in the first half to silence the home crowd.
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Fabio Borini pulled one back for Karagumruk in the 55th minute but Eduardo restored the two-goal advantage to Alanyaspor in the 70th minute.
Davide Biraschi's immediate response in the 72nd minute took the scoreline to 3-2 and set up a tense finale as Pirlo's side chased the points at home but Alanyaspor would get the last laugh with Erencan Yardimci scoring a 93rd-minute goal to end the match at 4-2.
Ahmed Musa plays 20-minute cameo against Alanyaspor
Ahmed Musa came on in place of Borini in the 70th minute but the Super Eagles forward failed to have as much impact on the match as the Italian he replaced.
The Nigerian international managed only 14 touches of the ball in the time he spent on the pitch, failing to muster any shot on goal or off target for the entire time.
Musa had one (1) long ball successfully find its mark but failed to find anyone with his sole cross. He was a lot more successful in the defensive phases though, winning all three (3) ground duels he contested and putting in two (2) tackles.
Fatih Karagumruk are next in action in the league on Sunday, August 21, when they travel to Vodafone Park in Istanbul to face Besiktas.