AFCON 2025
Super Eagles forward Kelechi Iheanacho wrote his name into Bursaspor history on Sunday, scoring in a ninth consecutive league match to break a club record that had stood for more than a decade. The Nigerian striker’s late equaliser could not save his side from a 2-1 home defeat to Mardin 1969 Spor in the Turkish 1. Lig.
Iheanacho’s ninth straight league goal took him past the eight-match run that Fernandao set in the 2014/15 Süper Lig season. He equalled that mark a week earlier with a brace at Batman Petrolspor, and he needed only one more strike to claim it outright.
Mardin took the lead through Tonio Teklic in the 21st minute, and Bursaspor chased the game for an hour. Iheanacho then levelled in the 81st minute with a superb strike from outside the penalty area, and his record goal looked set to earn a point.
Zdravko Dimitrov had other ideas. The Mardin forward struck in the fourth minute of stoppage time to steal all three points and leave the home supporters stunned.
The streak has been remarkable. Iheanacho has 12 goals and two assists in nine league games since he joined from Celtic on a free transfer on July 18, 2026, on a contract that runs until June 2029. He scored 11 times in his first eight appearances.
His influence on Bursaspor’s attack is had to ignore having scored 12 of the club’s 17 goals this season.
The run also extends beyond the club. Iheanacho opened the scoring for the Super Eagles in their 3-3 draw with Russia in Nizhny Novgorod, so he has now scored in 10 straight games for club and country.
Meanwhile, the defeat leaves Bursaspor on 19 points, three behind leaders Kayserispor, and their promotion push goes on. Iheanacho will aim to extend his streak to ten in the next league game and keep the club in the hunt for a return to the Süper Lig.
