Omar Marmoush announced himself to the Etihad Stadium crown with a first-half hat-trick as Manchester City cruised to a 4-0 demolition of Newcastle United in a Premier League match on Saturday.
City came into the encounter off the back of defeats to Arsenal and Real Madrid, but Pep Guardiola’s side shook off the blues to dispatch the Magpies and replace Chelsea in the top four.
It all started in the 19th minute when a long pass from goalkeeper Ederson found Marmoush, and the Egyptian lobbed the ball over onrushing Newcastle shot-stopper Martin Dubravka into the net.
The former Frankfurt hitman then drilled in a low finish at the near post with the help of a slight deflection to make it two in the 24th minute.
Marmoush went on to guide a first-time strike from Savinho’s cut-back into goal with just over half an hour played to complete a remarkable first-half hat-trick, before second-half substitute James McAtee got the fourth goal for the Cityzens from close range in the 84th minute.
There was a concern for City in the final minutes when talismanic striker Erling Haaland went down holding his knee and had to be replaced by Matheus Nunes.
City will now turn their attention to the second leg of their UEFA Champions League playoff round clash against Real Madrid, and would need a huge result in Spain following their 3-2 deficit from the first leg.
Elsewhere in the Premier League on Saturday, Mikel Merino scored two late goals to give Arsenal a 2-0 win at Leicester City, while Calvin Bassey scored the winner as Fulham got a 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest.
Paul Onuachu provided the assist for Southampton’s consolation goal as the Saints went down 3-1 at home to Bournemouth to compound their relegation worries, while Brentford left the London Stadium with a 1-0 win over West Ham United.