Artem Dzyuba netted for Adana Demirspor in a 4-2 defeat at Fenerbahce
Dzyuba marked his 34th birthday with a goal. © Twitter
Russian striker Artem Dzyuba wasted no time getting among the goals for new club Adana Demirspor by scoring on his debut against Fenerbahce.
The 34-year-old joined the Turkish Super Lig outfit on a one-year contract last week after leaving Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg as a free agent at the end of last season.
On his maiden outing for his new employers, Dzyuba started up front as a lone target man.
In 47 minutes, he watched his team slip 3-0 behind at the Ulker Stadium, although Demirspor finally started to show some fight when pulling one back through a Younes Belhanda penalty approaching the hour mark.
Ten minutes later, on 66 minutes, Henry Onyekuru latched on to a poor headed clearance by the Fenerbahce back line and then knocked the ball towards the net with the outside of his foot from a tight angle.
Dzyuba pounced and knocked it over the line to score a debut goal on his 34th birthday.
GOL | Fenerbahçe 3-2 Adana Demirspor⚽️ 66' Artem DzyubaMaç Linki ve anlık goller için takip: @GoalHubTRpic.twitter.com/sTtTTyy9lc
— Süper Lig | Anlık Goller (@Golsuperlig3) August 22, 2022
Picking up the ball and screaming in celebration while trying to rally the troops, Dzyuba and his teammates, including former Zenit colleague Yaroslav Rakitskiy, were unable to launch a successful comeback.
Not helping them in their mission was Ukrainian Rakitskiy receiving a red card on 82 minutes, with Ezgjan Alioski scoring a minute later to put the tie beyond doubt at 4-2 and send Jorge Jesus’ men to the top of the table.
Nuclear factor can power Russian star to Turkish success – journalist
With Dzyuba and Rakitskiy winning the last four editions of the Russian Premier League at Zenit, they have a job on their hands to challenge the likes of Fenerbahce and Besiktas for the Turkish crown as their team suffered a first defeat in three Super Lig games this season – though they are still higher in the table than holders Trabzonspor and Istanbul giants Galatasaray.
On Saturday night, Dzyuba – who is the Russian national team’s joint-highest goal scorer of all-time with 30 goals in 55 caps – will make his home debut before Adana Demirspor fans when they take on Umraniye.
