Omar Marmoush scored a 14-minute hat-trick as Manchester City blew Newcastle away 4-0 at the Etihad to gain an upper hand in the race for a Champions League place.
The game was decided in the first half by City’s impressive January signing, with the scoreline feeling somewhat surprising given the recent plight of the two sides. Man City were as compelling as Newcastle were calamitous.
The hosts, warming up for Wednesday’s trip to Real Madrid, went direct to score their first as goalkeeper Ederson – registering his third assist of the season – played a 60-yard pass to Marmoush and he calmly lobbed Martin Dubravka with a measured finish in the 19th minute.
Five minutes later Marmoush beat Dubravka at his near post, and for his final act of a decisive first period, swept home from Savinho’s neat cutback without a single Newcastle defender anywhere near. To add insult to injury, substitute James Mcatee scored a simple fourth from a corner (84).
Perhaps the only sour note occurred shortly after Mcatee’s moment when Erling Haaland went down clutching his knee and was withdrawn, with City travelling to the Spanish capital in four days’ time to contest the second leg of their European play-off with Real.
Paul Merson reacts to Omar Marmoush’s 14-minute first-half hat-trick as Man City take on Newcastle in the Premier League.
More to follow.
