Manchester City made four signings during the winter transfer window in a bid to salvage something from the second half of the season.
Three started against Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon as the club secured a well-deserved 4-0 win over the Champions League chasing Magpies.
Omar Marmoush lived up to his £59m transfer fee by scoring a wonderful first-half hat-trick at the Etihad, with the first one being the pick of the bunch, as the Egyptian star lobbed the ball over Martin Dubravka in the Toon goal.
To round off the win, James McAtee scored the fourth during the final few minutes and Pep Guardiola will surely be pleased with his team. The result prepares the club well for the second leg of their Champions League playoff tie against Real Madrid next week.
Omar Marmoush was incredible against Newcastle
The former Eintracht Frankfurt gem had to wait 165 minutes to score his first Premier League goal for City but proceeded to score three in the space of 14 minutes during a frantic first half.
The winger also delivered three accurate crosses into the opposition penalty area, attempted two dribbles, and won three ground duels in what was a superb display.
|
Man City vs Newcastle United – Key Statistics |
|
|---|---|
|
Metric |
Highest-Ranked |
|
Accurate passes |
Nico Gonzalez (98) |
|
Shots on target |
Omar Marmoush (3) |
|
Tackles |
Lewis Hall (7) |
|
Ground duels won |
Lewis Hall (8) |
|
Key passes |
Phil Foden (3) |
Guardiola will hope this is a sign of what’s to come from the 26-year-old. He wasn’t the only one to shine against Eddie Howe’s men, however, as Savinho on the opposite flank was just as good.
Savinho’s game in numbers vs Newcastle
The young winger has been so impressive since arriving at City last summer. Across 32 games in all competitions, the 20-year-old has scored twice while registering eight assists for City.
Guardiola unleashed the Brazilian on the right against Newcastle, where he and Marmoush tore apart a fragile defence.
Savinho may not have scored, but he did everything else right. Not only did he grab an assist, but he also completed 90% of his passes during the game, took 70 touches, and created a big chance.
Elsewhere, the former Girona sensation attempted a staggering nine dribbles throughout the 90 minutes. Yes, he may have succeeded with only three, but his desire to take on his opposite number proved he wanted to get involved as often as possible.
Journalist Sam Lee hailed his dribbling ability, saying: “Savinho has absolutely no fear of Hall at all. He’s going at him every time.”
Defensively, he lost the ball 16 times while winning six ground duels contested, but this facet of his game may improve as time goes on.
At the present moment, all Guardiola will be looking for is Savinho to cause chaos for opposition defences, something that Newcastle found out the hard way on Saturday.
Marmoush will likely get all the plaudits, yet the Brazilian delivered an equally vital performance for City as they moved up to fourth in the Premier League table.
Related
