6 days ago
12
Omar Marmoush hit a high point at Manchester City the last time Bournemouth were in town but now he faces a battle to play.
Omar Marmoush scored the goal of the season when Manchester City hosted Bournemouth last season. It was voted as the best strike seen anywhere in the Premier League for a campaign that Marmoush had only arrived in halfway through.
Enticed from Frankfurt in January with the promise of the minutes that Julian Alvarez had enjoyed, Marmoush spent a good chunk of his time filling in for an injured Erling Haaland and the Norwegian's absences should not take anything away from the credit for City's new signing outscoring him and all of his teammates with seven league goals.
The fact that Marmoush's strike came just days after he had missed a crucial penalty in the FA Cup final - having been handed the ball by Haaland - was a reminder that the Egyptian was here to stay and he started the final game of the season at Fulham later that week. For all City had lost that year, Marmoush was a find.
Except, as Bournemouth prepare to visit the Etihad again, it will take something exceptional from Marmoush against Swansea in the League Cup to force his way back into the team by Sunday. Nine players have scored for City this season if you include Burnley's Maxime Esteve (with two) but Marmoush hasn't found the net since his wondergoal.
Injury accounts for most of that, although he was not massively effective positioned out on the left wing in the early games and has not been rushed back into action. Pep Guardiola brought on four players at Aston Villa in search of an equaliser before finally turning to Marmoush with just ten minutes to go.
Perhaps summing up his season so far, Marmoush looked to have crossed for Haaland to score a late equaliser but had moved too early and was correctly flagged offside.
Guardiola has had concerns for some time that the team aren't scoring enough goals to support Haaland when he can't find the net - as happened at Villa - and Marmoush is the prime candidate to do that. He has to be on the pitch to do that though, and then playing well.
The first of those has to happen against Swansea in midweek. It has long been pencilled in, and lower league opposition offer Marmoush the opportunity to feel his way back into form. That can also work against the Egyptian though, for if he cannot take any chances in South Wales in midweek he runs the risk of the level of team he has faced counting against him.
Marmoush has lots of work to do to get back to the point where he is forcing Guardiola to play him in the same team as Haaland.
That likely won't happen before Bournemouth on Sunday, but the quickest way he can do that is to provide goals and assists, because at the minute there is very little competition.
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