The opportunity for the 'Egyptian prince'

Pep Guardiola is a master of team management. Even during Manchester City's disastrous season, the Spanish coach still produced a bright spot in Omar Marmoush.

Marmoush promises to shine in the upcoming matches - Photo: REUTERS

The Egyptian striker is likely to lead Man City's attack for the remainder of the season, following Erling Haaland's serious injury diagnosis.

Guaranteed starting spot

Even without Haaland's injury, Marmoush has already secured a place in Manchester City's starting lineup. Since joining Man City in January, Marmoush has made 11 appearances, 8 of which were starts. He has scored 5 goals, including 4 in the Premier League.

In the Premier League alone, Marmoush was rated 7.06 by Whoscored, making him the third best player for Man City (after Haaland and Doku).

Marmoush's smooth integration is showing why Man City shelled out €75 million for the Egyptian striker. Before arriving at the Etihad, Marmoush had scored 37 goals in a year and a half for Frankfurt. In Egypt, Salah is still considered the "king," while Marmoush is likened to the "prince."

Liverpool fans once desperately wanted the club's management to bring Marmoush in to partner Salah, but Manchester City snatched him away in a spectacular fashion.

When Man City spent €75 million, there were many doubts that the Etihad Stadium management had overspent. Even with Salah's brilliant success at Liverpool, there were still many doubts surrounding an Egyptian player. Germany and England are two vastly different football environments, not to mention the huge disparity in stature between Man City and Frankfurt.

Using people is like using wood.

But then Marmoush settled in faster than expected, in a way that even Man City fans didn't dare to anticipate. Instead of having Marmoush as a substitute for Haaland, manager Guardiola fielded the Egyptian striker alongside the Norwegian superstar.

The price to pay was that Marmoush was moved to the left wing. This is not the preferred position for a pure center forward like Marmoush. In the first half of this season, Marmoush scored 20 goals for Frankfurt thanks to playing in his preferred center forward position.

But Pep Guardiola is renowned as a tactical master with the ability to adapt his players in various ways. After more than two months, he successfully molded Marmoush into his new position.

At times, Marmoush was even deployed as an attacking midfielder just behind Haaland. Other times, he would come on as a substitute for Haaland and then return to his preferred "number 9" position.

Will the "prince" become the "king"?

What's remarkable about Marmoush is that he has scored in every position Guardiola has assigned him to. This includes a hat-trick against Newcastle playing as a left winger, a goal against Brighton playing as an attacking midfielder, and the winning goal against Bournemouth coming on as a substitute for Haaland.

Now that Haaland's injury has worsened, Marmoush is in what is perhaps the most comfortable position he's been in since joining Man City. It's almost certain the Egyptian striker will be given his preferred starting position for at least the next four or five games.

Salah is in the twilight years of his career, and Marmoush is poised to become the new "Egyptian king" of the Premier League.

Liverpool are being cautious in the derby.

The highlight of the 30th round of the Premier League, taking place in the early hours of April 3rd (Vietnam time), will be the Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton. In the first leg, played in February, Liverpool were held to a 2-2 draw by Everton, with Liverpool conceding a last-minute goal.

In the second leg, Liverpool were in a more comfortable position as they were far ahead of Arsenal in the title race. However, Arne Slot's team were suffering from low morale after consecutive defeats in the Champions League and the League Cup final.

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HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/thoi-co-cua-hoang-tu-ai-cap-20250401230248374.htm