The “Romanian star” is making waves in Turkey. Valentin Mihăilă, exceptional goal in his first start under the command of the new coach
Valentin Mihăilă (25 years old) started his year strong, scoring his first goal of 2026 for Rizespor, right on his first start under the command of the new coach, Recep Ucar.
Valentin Mihăilă Photo/Instagram Rizespor
Until then, the Romanian had only scored a few minutes in the first two matches of the year, 16 with Goztepe and 30 with Alanyaspor, but the successful goal in the match with Alanyaspor, Ianis Hagi's team, convinced the technician to include him from the start.
The game with Basaksehir, from the 20th stage of the Turkish championship, started hard for the Romanian team. The guests quickly took the lead, through Shomurodov, in the 19th minute. Rizespor, however, managed to equalize just before the break, in extra time of the first half, through Taha Sahin.
“The Romanian star made it 2-1!”
The second half was dominated by Rizespor, and the decisive moment came in the 68th minute. Mihăilă took the ball, entered the box and shot powerfully with his right from the edge of the penalty area, hopelessly for the goalkeeper Sengezer, bringing the advantage to his team.
“Rizespor failed to keep its advantage, after the goals scored by Sahin and Mihăilă. The Romanian star made it 2-1, but Rizespor lost everything after Bertug Yıldırım restored parity!“Turkish journalists reported.
However, Mihăilă was substituted in the 73rd minute
Rizespor's happiness was short-lived as the hosts restored parity in the 74th minute through Bertug Yildirim's goal. The game ended 2-2, and Valentin Mihăilă's team climbed to 11th place in the standings, with 20 points after 20 stages. Basaksehir is now in 6th position with 30 points.
So far, Mihăilă has played in 12 matches this season for Rizespor, managing to score 4 times and provide an assist. The next challenge for the Romanian team will be in the Turkish Cup, on February 3, against the Beyoglu Yeni Carsi team.
