Six things you might have missed from the Premier League as Marmoush leads Man City rout over Newcastle | OneFootball

The Citizens capitalised on Chelsea dropping points on Friday, to sit one point clear in fourth. Their game against Newcastle was an intriguing battle, and one of five games taking place in Saturday’s traditional 3pm kick-off slot.

Bournemouth are the team chasing Man City closest right now, thanks to their 0-2 win against Southampton in a south coast showdown. Nottingham Forest dropped more points in their top four quest, losing 2-1 away to Fulham — though the Tricky Trees remain third.

Elsewhere, Brentford got the bragging rights in their London derby against West Ham United, while Aston Villa and Ipswich Town played out a 1-1 draw.

But the games are about more than just the scores. And with five games on, it can be hard to keep up. So we’ve rounded up the best stats and stories from the five 3pm kick-offs on Saturday.

Marmoush wins Haaland vs Isak showdown

Man City’s game against Newcastle was meant to be a showdown between Erling Haaland and Alexander Isak. Between them, the pair went into the game with 36 goals in the Premier League this season — Haaland scoring 19 to Isak’s 17.

But Omar Marmoush made sure no one was talking about either player come the end of the game. In fact, he made sure he was the main talking point by half-time.

The Egyptian had played four games for Man City since his January move from Eintracht Frankfurt, but was yet to score. He started each of Man City’s past two Premier League games albeit not as the leading striker, naturally. So he didn’t have an instant impact as he did in Germany.

But now he’s here. Marmoush scored a first-half hat-trick for Man City, his first trio of his senior career. He’s also the first player not called Haaland or Phil Foden to score a Premier League hat-trick for Man City since May 2022.

The goals were three very different finishes, with the first a perfectly-weighted lob having been played through by Ederson. The second saw Marmoush cut in to finish at the near post, while the hat-trick was completed by a first-time effort following a cutback.

How may Ederson assist you?

This seems to be the weekend for goalkeeper assists. After Bart Verbruggen’s assist for Brighton and Hove Albion on Friday, Ederson decided to get in on the act. And this one was significant.

The Brazilian set up Man City’s opener in their 4-0 win over Newcastle, with a typical goalkeeper assist. Man City were keeping hold of possession in their own half, with the ball played back to Ederson. The Brazilian then sent a long ball over the top of the Newcastle defence, which was misjudged by Kieran Trippier. Omar Marmoush got onto the end of the ball, beating Martin Dubravka with a lovely lob.

It was Ederson’s third Premier League assist of the season, and his sixth in the competition overall. Ederson now holds the record for the most Premier League assists among goalkeepers, having previously been level with Paul Robinson on five.

Nottingham Forest’s one weakness

Nottingham Forest have been excellent this season, and proving tough to beat. But there are a few teams that have found the formula. And it seems to be a pretty effective one.

Take the lead.

Nottingham Forest have conceded the opening goal six times in the Premier League this season, and they’ve lost five of those. They’ve also gained just four points from losing positions in the league this season, with only Ipswich (3) and Southampton (1) winning fewer.

Fulham took the lead at Craven Cottage after 15 minutes through Emile Smith Rowe, but Chris Wood pulled Nottingham Forest level before the break. There was a chance for Forest to improve their record. But Calvin Bassey restored Fulham’s advantage just after the hour-mark, and the Cottagers managed to hold on.

We should have seen this coming. Fulham have won five of their six Premier League games against Nottingham Forest, doing the double again this season.

Brentford’s away run continues

It’s not too long ago that Brentford were the worst away team in the Premier League. The Bees went winless in their opening nine Premier League away games this season, drawing two.

But now they’ve won three in a row. It’s helped that two of those have been closer to home, winning London derbies against Crystal Palace and West Ham. But it’s more that the Bees have finally found their feet.

There was just one goal for Brentford at the London Stadium, scored in the fourth minute by Kevin Schade. They thought they had a second in the first half, but Yoane Wissa’s effort was ruled out for offside. Nonetheless, it was a big away win for Brentford, and the first time they’ve won three consecutive Premier League matches on the road.

Ollie Watkins’s impressive record

Aston Villa had to come from behind to get their point against Ipswich, and it was thanks to Ollie Watkins. The Englishman feels like he hasn’t been as prolific this season, but he has still scored 12 goals in the Premier League.

Goal number 12 came against Ipswich, a much-needed finish against a team down to 10-men. And the goal highlighted Watkins’ quality in scoring in different ways. Watkins is the only player to score 15+ goals with his right foot, left foot and head in the Premier League since he made his debut at the start of the 2020-21 season.

A first for Ryan Christie

Bournemouth were heavy favourites for their trip to face Southampton, with so many attacking stars in good form. But this game was run by one of the names that normally goes under the radar.

The damage was done in the first half with Ryan Christie at the heart of things. The Scot set up Dango Outtara in the 14th minute with his third assist of the season. Two minutes later, Christie got on the scoresheet himself, scoring for just the second time this season.

But, significantly, it was the first time Christie has both scored and assisted in a single Premier League game in his career.

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