“Incredible sense of goal!” – Pep Guardiola hails Manchester City forward amid Erling Haaland struggles | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola raved about Omar Marmoush after his first-half brace against Newcastle United helped secure a Carabao Cup final date for the Blues against Arsenal.

City claimed a comfortable 3-1 win over the Magpies in the return leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie at the Etihad Stadium, progressing to another cup final courtesy of a 5-1 aggregate triumph that will see them come up against Mikel Arteta and co at Wembley.

Since his return from the Africa Cup of Nations in January, Marmoush has found his feet at the Etihad Stadium after a subdued start to the 2025-26 season that saw him struggle for regular playing opportunities in the opening half of the campaign.

The 26-year-old joined Manchester City from Eintracht Frankfurt for £59 million in January 2025 and played an instrumental role in helping his side record a third-place 2024-25 Premier League finish, qualify for this season’s UEFA Champions League and reach the 2025 FA Cup final.

City are once again fighting for silverware on several fronts, though the jury remains out on whether the eight-time Premier League champions have enough fuel in the tank to hunt down league leaders Arsenal and have successful cup runs elsewhere.

Wednesday night’s win over Newcastle United is arguably the most comfortable Manchester City have looked in weeks, having won just one of their last six Premier League games to allow Arsenal to establish a six point lead at the top of the table.

Erling Haaland has struggled in the final third in recent months and while the arrival of Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth in January has helped alleviate the goalscoring burden on the Norwegian’s shoulders, City have been far from perfect in front of goal of late.

However, Marmoush is hitting form at the right time and ahead of a must-win Premier League encounter with Liverpool this weekend, Guardiola has hailed the 26-year-old’s goalscoring instinct.

“His movements are really, really top. He has this incredible sense of goal,” said Guardiola in an interview with Sky Sports after City’s 3-1 win over Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup semi-final return leg.

“The first goal is a bit lucky but it’s not lucky when you play with this passion, with this love. Really pleased for him.”

Marmoush might have played his way into Manchester City’s starting XI against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, with no room for error for the Blues as they chase down Arsenal after a poor run of form in the Premier League.

With Jeremy Doku expected to remain unavailable, Marmoush could be called upon to make the difference for City in as difficult a fixture as they come historically for Guardiola, who will know that it is now or never for the Blues to turn the ship around if they are to stake a serious claim for the Premier League title in the run-in.