RIZE, Turkey (Interstat) — Trabzonspor erased a two-goal deficit, survived a second-half equalizer and beat Rizespor 4-3 at Çaykur Didi Stadyumu on Monday, with Franculino scoring the deciding goal in the 83rd minute. Rizespor made the stronger start and built a 2-0 lead by the 32nd minute through Gennaro Borrelli, who scored in the 12th and again in the 32nd. Adedire Mebude provided two assists for the home side, helping Rizespor dictate the early tempo. Rizespor’s Ariss was booked in the 14th minute, and Trabzonspor’s Fabinho received a yellow card in the 38th. Trabzonspor went into halftime trailing by two goals and needing a response.

The response came quickly after the break. Melih Kabasakal pulled one back in the 49th minute, and A. Simsir leveled in the 51st. Franculino then put Trabzonspor ahead in the 57th minute, completing a three-goal burst in nine minutes. Kabasakal was booked in the 55th minute and was replaced in the 61st, while Rizespor’s Borrelli was cautioned in the 60th. Fabinho was replaced at halftime for Trabzonspor, and Eskihellac came on for Kabasakal in the 61st. Rizespor steadied and found an equalizer through Qazim Laci in the 68th minute, making it 3-3 and setting up a tense closing stretch. Mebude was replaced in the 71st, and Borrelli came off in the 72nd after scoring twice and picking up a card. Laci was also withdrawn in the 79th.

Franculino delivered the decisive moment in the 83rd minute, scoring his second goal of the game to restore Trabzonspor’s lead for good. Ernest Muci supplied three assists for Trabzonspor, while Simsir and Kabasakal each scored once. Franculino’s late strike capped the most important passage of the match and left Rizespor without enough time to respond. Rizespor’s attack had been powered by Borrelli’s two goals, Mebude’s two assists and Laci’s equalizer, but the home side could not find a fourth goal. Trabzonspor made further changes late, with Salah coming on in the 86th minute and Simsir departing in the 89th. Rizespor’s earlier substitutions included Bulut in the 59th minute and Antalyali in the 79th.

Trabzonspor improved to 3-0 in this competition and 5-0 across all competitions. Rizespor fell to 1-3 in the competition and 2-3 overall. The result continued Trabzonspor’s strong run after recent wins over Hearts and Besiktas, while Rizespor remained in search of consistency after recent losses to Corum and Fenerbahce. The match featured four yellow cards and a flurry of second-half changes, but the decisive factor was Trabzonspor’s ability to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead early in the second half and then answer Rizespor’s equalizer through Franculino. Kabasakal’s goal and booking, Simsir’s finish and Muci’s three assists were central to the comeback, while Borrelli’s two-goal performance and Mebude’s creativity kept Rizespor in the game until the late winner.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Trabzonspor 3, Rizespor 1. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Rizespor with an 83.7 percent probability to win. Trabzonspor had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -0.5. The total score of 7 went under the over/under line of 3.25.