Omar Marmoush stands tall as Manchester City find their groove

Kevin de Bruyne leads the way in comeback win over Crystal Palace

Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne celebrates scoring the opening goal against Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium. Reuters

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola speaks with Kevin de Bruyne and the rest of the team at Etihad Stadium. Getty Images

Omar Marmoush of Manchester City celebrates scoring against Crystal Palace. EPA

Manchester City's Nico O'Reilly, centre, celebrates scoring his side's fifth with Kevin de Bruyne and Omar Marmoush. PA

Manchester City's Mateo Kovacic fights for the ball with Crystal Palace's Maxence Lacroix. Reuters

Manchester City's Mateo Kovacic celebrates after scoring on Saturday. AP

Manchester City came from 2-0 down to behind to beat Crystal Palace 5-2, the goals coming from five different goalscorers. Each of the assists came from different players too.

Kevin de Bruyne, the captain who will leave City at the end of the season, was the game’s outstanding player, scoring one and assisting another, while Omar Marmoush again impressed in the absence of Erling Haaland.

Palace were two up inside 21 minutes thanks to Eberechi Eze and Chris Richards and City fans voiced some frustration towards manager Pep Guardiola.

While Haaland is out with an injured ankle for seven weeks, Marmoush is City’s main forward, the man on paper at the front of a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Against Crystal Palace he played towards the left, with De Bruyne more central in a setup that looked more narrow and even 4-2-2-2.

The pair combined after 12 minutes with City countering through the middle with De Bruyne pushing a ball forward to Marmoush.

The Egyptian’s first touch was faultless, but the ensuing shot wasn’t. He claimed he had been pulled, Guardiola claimed he had been pulled and appealed for a penalty. VAR said no.

De Bruyne hit the post on 23 and pulled a goal back on 33 when his free kick went in off the post before Marmoush equalised on 35, striking a loose ball downwards through three Palace defenders past Dean Henderson.

The equaliser sparked a strong reaction from Guardiola who turned and cupped his ears to the City fans before smiling. The Catalan then gestured to the fans to make more noise.

A minute after half time, a low Mateo Kovacic shot put City 3-2 up. Marmoush set up James McAtee who struck over after 50. Seven minutes later, the 22-year-old from nearby Salford took the ball around Henderson to make it 4-2. Another young local lad, Nico O’Reilly, 20, side footed City’s fifth on 79 minutes from a Palace header.

Marmoush looks like a smart signing for a City squad undergoing significant changes.

He scored 20 goals in 26 games for Eintracht Frankfurt in the first half of this season, even more impressive than his 17 in the whole of last term.

Bundesliga player of the month in September and November 2024, City paid a reported £59 million for him and he scored on his debut against Chelsea in January.

His seven City goals to date are credible in a new league, the most important being the winner at Bournemouth to send his side into the FA Cup finals.

All six of his league goals have come at home – and three of those were against Newcastle United. Interest in the player surged after that those three goals, all scored within the opening 33 minutes, with a sharp rise in interest from Egypt. City have had eight times more Egyptian visitors to their website since he signed.

But he’s far more than goals. His run-ins behind and between players have added a new dimension to City, his touches off De Bruyne effective.

He can take free kicks and amid the uncertainty of what City’s team will look like next season, he’s a good bet to be an important part of it. He left the field on 81 minutes to cries of ‘Marmoush!’ from the City fans,

Palace, in form and in 11th, can be satisfied with their season. A European place is not out of the question for next term, though not a Champions League one.

England will have at least five Champions League places next season. City started this season thinking they would be realistic contenders to win the top competition and end it hoping to get into the competition next year. The win against Palace was a big one.

“Kevin with a free kick changed the momentum,” said Guardiola after the match. “We scored two and after the second half started our next two goals were quick. If you see the chances that we had, we could have scored eight or nine easy because we arrive in the final third, one against one with the keeper how many times? The work ethic, the way we played was really good.”

“It’s been a hard year,” said De Bruyne. “Having a hernia was not much fun but I’ve been pain free for the past six weeks and that’s made a big difference. It was hard but now I feel free. I’m able to do a lot of training sessions.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen but I want to play on. We’ll see where I can end up. I’ve been here so long, my family’s been here 10 years, my kids were born in Manchester and lived their whole life here. It’s going to be something different for them and I think they’re a bit scared … excited.

“It’s a big unknown because we don’t know what’s going to happen for the moment. I want to play good football like I did today but I’ll be fine. If I can play football and my family’s happy, I’m good.”