Omar Marmoush said this is “just the beginning” after he kick-started his Manchester City career with a 14-minute hat-trick in Saturday's 4-0 hammering of Newcastle United.
The January signing from Eintracht Frankfurt struck three times in the first half as the champions crushed one of their top-four rivals at the Etihad Stadium to climb to fourth in the Premier League.
The only concern for City was an injury to Erling Haaland in the closing stages but the Norwegian was able to walk from the field and manager Pep Guardiola played down the severity of the issue.
Marmoush’s goals were his first for City in his fifth appearance and lifted spirits ahead of next week’s daunting Champions League trip to Real Madrid, when Guardiola’s side will attempt to overturn a 3-2 deficit.
“Amazing day. The feeling is crazy of course, it’s the first hat-trick of my career so it’s a really, really nice feeling,” said Marmoush.
“From the beginning of the match we came, from the first minute, really focused on the job and we got the job done.
“I also have to thank my teammates, my coach, the staff, everyone helped me from the first day in feeling a part of this family.
“They helped me show my qualities and helped me reach where I reached today. It’s just the beginning and we are looking forward to the next games.”
Marmoush's electric display showed why the club turned to him to reinvigorate their attacking options.
It was that issue Guardiola was trying to address when he called contacts in Germany to check up on Marmoush after sporting director Txiki Begiristain had put the Egyptian's name forward as a part of City's overall £180m January transfer window spend.
“When Txiki came to me I said, because of the season we had, the more players you bring the better,” said Guardiola. “I called some contacts in Germany because I have friends there. I asked a few things and there was a high opinion in many things; behaviour, in training sessions, goals.
“He's young and comes here to make his career. That is why the club decides. They always have the last word.
“We knew sooner or later he would score goals, he is a good finisher,” added Guardiola. “We (will) see how he handles the compliments.
“He's a player that we missed. His movement in behind, his pace. Normally, we have the players to get the ball to feet. He's a guy who likes to attack the space and help us to create more.
“But when we play the way we play today, everyone is better. Even the manager.”
'Mini Rodri' offers midfield stability
Guardiola said that another new signing – the midfielder Nico Gonzalez – can step into the void left by Rodri after making an impressive Premier League debut on Saturday.
City have struggled badly without Ballon d'Or winner Rodri, who suffered a serious knee injury in September.
Guardiola's men have won the Premier League for the past four seasons but currently sit fourth in the table, 13 points adrift of leaders Liverpool.
Gonzalez arrived on the final day of the winter transfer window from Porto for a £50 million fee and took little time to find his feet in arguably City's best performance of the season against the Magpies.
“I think the presence from Nico helped us a lot,” said Guardiola. “The feeling is that the club sign an incredible player for the future in terms of mentality.
“He was in the Barcelona academy and Barcelona's academy is the best in the world in how they teach you the concepts, the body shapes, how to pass the ball, the technique.
“I think in Porto, (coach) Sergio Conceicao helped us a lot to bring into his football the part of being aggressive and be smart and play different type of games. He is so young, 23, like a mini Rodri.
“How he talks, the personality. There was a moment he was correcting Erling (Haaland), to do this, do that. When that happens, it's nice because you think, 'OK, in the next six or seven years we'll have Rodri, we'll have him'. That will give us more presence and more stability which this season, of course, we missed.”
