Paul Onuachu scored twice in Trabzonspor’s 3-1 demolition of Kayserispor on Monday, taking his tally to 20 Super Lig goals this season and equalling a Trabzonspor record that has stood since 2011.
The Nigerian Who Owns Turkey’s Golden Boot Race
It’s becoming a habit. Paul Onuachu walked into the Kadir Has Stadium on Monday, did what he does best, and walked out with another piece of Trabzonspor history. A first-half header and a composed penalty in their 3-1 win over Kayserispor pushed his 2025/26 Super Lig tally to 20 goals in 22 appearances, cementing his status as the league’s most lethal striker.
Trabzonspor didn’t have it as complicated as the scoreline might suggest, but the game never really had the chance to be difficult. Kayserispor’s task became nearly impossible in the 8th minute when midfielder Dorukhan Tokoz was shown a straight red card, leaving the hosts a man down for over 80 minutes.
Onuachu, in typical fashion, was patient and waited for his moment.
How the Goals Came
Trabzonspor controlled possession after the early red card but struggled to convert early chances. Onuachu missed a couple of half-chances before finding his rhythm. The opener came just before the break, when a Wagner Pina cross found Onuachu’s forehead. He didn’t waste it, nodding firmly into the net to give his side the lead.
The second arrived in the 47th minute. A Laszlo Benes handball in the box handed Trabzonspor the penalty, and as the designated taker, Onuachu stepped up with zero hesitation, firing cleanly into the top-right corner.
A third came via an Oleksandr Zubkov strike that rattled the woodwork and deflected off goalkeeper Bilal Bayazit into the net. Trabzonspor then controlled the game, introducing Nigerian stars Chibuike Nwaiwu and Anthony Nwakaeme from the bench. German Onugkha pulled one back for Kayserispor in the 83rd minute, but it was far too late for a comeback.
A Record That Waited 14 Years
The bigger story is what Onuachu’s goals mean in the context of the club’s history. His brace against Kayserispor means he has now scored in seven consecutive Super Lig matches, equalling the Trabzonspor club record for the longest goalscoring streak. That record was previously held solely by Turkish legend Burak Yilmaz, who set it during the 2011/12 season.
Fourteen years. That’s how long Yilmaz’s record went unchallenged. Onuachu has matched it, and now the focus shifts to Trabzonspor’s next fixture: a home clash against Rizespor at Papara Park. If he scores there, the record is his alone.
As FootballInNigeria.com.ng has tracked throughout his remarkable season, Onuachu’s form has been the story of the Turkish Super Lig. He entered the Kayserispor game with 18 goals in 21 appearances and leaves it as the league’s joint-top scorer with 20. His nearest challenger, Eldor Shomurodov of Istanbul Basaksehir, has 16 goals from 25 games. Onuachu is doing it in fewer matches.
What This Means for the Super Eagles
Onuachu’s consistency is a significant argument for his inclusion in Eric Chelle’s Super Eagles plans for the March friendlies against Iran and Jordan in Amman. He’s 31 years old, playing the best football of his career, and scoring at a rate that demands attention. The big question for Chelle isn’t whether Onuachu deserves to be in the squad, it’s how to fit him alongside Victor Osimhen when both are firing.
For Trabzonspor, the win keeps them in third place in the Super Lig table, trailing Fenerbahce and league leaders Galatasaray. The race for European spots is tight, and Onuachu’s goals are keeping them in contention every single week.
With the Nigerian striker’s form at its peak, this is the perfect time to back Trabzonspor through the Bet9ja YOHAIG promo code, which offers up to ₦100,000 in bonuses for building accumulators around the Super Lig title race.
📌 Did You Know?
- Burak Yilmaz, whose 2011/12 consecutive scoring record Onuachu has now equalled, went on to become one of Turkey’s greatest ever strikers and won the French Ligue 1 title with Lille in 2020/21, scoring crucial goals in the title run-in at age 35.
- Onuachu is the first Nigerian player to lead the Turkish Super Lig Golden Boot race at this stage of a season, a fact that puts his 2025/26 campaign in a class of its own for Nigerian football abroad.
- Before joining Trabzonspor, Onuachu spent a loan spell at Southampton in the English Premier League during the 2023/24 season, where he struggled for consistency before returning to Turkey and rediscovering his best form.
- Trabzonspor are nicknamed “The Black Sea Storm,” a reference to the city of Trabzon on Turkey’s Black Sea coast. The club has won the Turkish Super Lig title six times, with their most recent championship in 2021/22.
- Onuachu stands 2.01 metres (6ft 7in) tall, making him one of the tallest outfield players in European football. His header for the first goal on Monday was a textbook example of how he uses that height as a weapon.
- The Kayserispor stadium where Monday’s game was played, the Kadir Has Stadium, holds 32,864 spectators and is named after Turkish businessman and philanthropist Kadir Has.
- Onuachu’s 20 goals this season already surpass his entire Super Lig tally from his first Trabzonspor season (2022/23), when he scored 14 goals before his loan move to Southampton.
