EPL: Marmoush shines as Man City thrash Newcastle 4-0

Omar Marmoush introduced himself to Manchester City fans in spectacular fashion, delivering a stunning 14-minute hat-trick to propel Pep Guardiola’s side to fourth place in the Premier League with a commanding win over Newcastle.  

The Egyptian forward, who arrived at City from Eintracht Frankfurt for £59 million last month, had struggled to find the net in his first four appearances.

However, he ended his goal drought in emphatic style, becoming the star of the match at the Etihad.

Marmoush’s scoring spree began when he capitalized on Kieran Trippier’s misjudgment of a long ball from goalkeeper Ederson. Just under 14 minutes later, he completed his treble with a precise first-time finish from 10 yards out.

His second goal was equally impressive, slotting home after a perfectly weighted through ball from Ilkay Gundogan.

This feat marked the fourth-fastest Premier League hat-trick by a City player, with Sergio Aguero holding the record for the quickest netting three in just nine minutes back in 2015.

While Marmoush has a long way to go before being compared to Mohamed Salah, Liverpool’s own ‘Egyptian King,’ his electric performance suggests he could become a key player for Guardiola’s squad.

After Marmoush’s first-half fireworks, substitute James McAtee scored City’s fourth in the 84th minute following a flick-on from stand-in skipper Erling Haaland.

Even with a side shorn of defensive trio Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake, it was a throwback to the ‘old’ City of recent years and the perfect warm-up to Wednesday’s do-or-die Champions League return with Real Madrid.

Guardiola will hope the knock Haaland sustained four minutes from time which triggered his early exit from the game does not prove to be too serious.

For Newcastle, defeat at Etihad Stadium was a familiar experience – they have now lost 16 successive matches at this ground and failed to score on their past six visits.