Article by Romeo Ene – Published Saturday, January 31, 2026, 5:56 p.m. / Updated Saturday, January 31, 2026, 5:56 p.m.
Valentin Mihăilă (25 years old) scored the first goal of this year on Saturday, right at the first start he received from coach Recep Ucar (50 years old). Rizespor, the Romanian team, drew on Basaksehir's field, score 2-2, in the 20th stage in Turkey.
In the first two matches of 2026 he ticked off 46 minutes (16 with Goztepe and 30 with Alanyaspor). He convinced the technician to start him after he scored the last leg in the match with Alanyaspor, Ianis Hagi's team, 1-1).
VIDEO | Valentin Mihăilă scored in Basaksehir – Rizespor
Valentin Mihăilă has given the lead to Rizespor pic.twitter.com/TgYe6N4ir6
— Goal Gallery (@Goalgallery2) January 31, 2026
The game started badly for the Romanian team. Basaksehir, the former opponent of Craiova University in the Conference League play-off, opened the scoring in the 19th minute, through Shomurodov.
Right before the break, in the extra time of the first half (45+1'), Rizespor restored the tie, through Taha Sahin. And he entered much better in the second half, when Valentin Mihăilă came out.
In the 68th minute, the Romanian took action on his own, advanced and sent a powerful shot from the edge of the box, with his right foot, hopelessly for Sengezer, the goalkeeper of Basaksehir.
Despite the success, Mihăilă was quickly replaced by Mithat Pala (73').
The joy lasted only 6 minutes, after the hosts restored the tie, through Bertug Yildirim (74'). It ended 2-2, and Rizespor climbed to 11th place in the Turkish championship, with 20 points after 20 stages.
On the other hand, Basaksehir climbs to 6, with 30 points.
Mihăilă played 12 matches this season for Rizespor, during which he scored 4 goals and provided a decisive assist. He is quoted by the specialized website Transfermarkt at 2.8 million euros.
For Rizespor, the Cup duel with Beyoglu Yeni Carsi follows on February 3.
Ranking in the Turkish championship
