Marmoush shines as Newcastle's victory helps Man City's drive for the top four.

Manchester City defeated Newcastle 4-0 at the Etihad to take the lead in the Champions League race thanks to a 14-minute hat-trick from Omar Marmoush.

City's outstanding January acquisition won the match in the first half, and considering the two teams' previous struggles, the score seemed a little unexpected. Man City was just as captivating as Newcastle was disastrous.

Goalie Ederson, who recorded his third assist of the season, sent a 60-yard pass to Marmoush, who calmly lobbed Martin Dubravka with a controlled finish to give the home team the lead as they warmed up for Wednesday's trip to Real Madrid (19).

After five minutes, Marmoush defeated Dubravka at his near post and, with no Newcastle defender in sight, swept home from Savinho's deft cutback to round off an exciting first period. Eddie Howe described the effort by his team as "painful to watch."

Newcastle collapsed with a whimper as replacement James Mcatee netted a straightforward fourth from a corner to compound the hurt.

Erling Haaland went down holding his knee shortly after Mcatee's defining moment, and City was immediately pulled. This was possibly the only negative aspect of City's trip to the Spanish capital, where they will play Real Madrid in the second leg of their European play-off match.

By stating that he had not heard any "bad news" from the medical team after the game, Pep Guardiola allayed fears.

Newcastle, who had won all four of their previous away games prior to this match, drops to seventh place in the Premier League standings, while City climbs to fourth.

Guardiola updates Haaland and calls Nico a "mini Rodri."

Pep Guardiola, manager of Man City:

Regarding Marmoush: "We were confident he would perform well due to his dynamism. He is constantly receiving compliments, so maybe he can handle them. He strikes the area from behind and aids in our creation. Everyone, including the manager, performed better when we played the way we did today.

Regarding Haaland's injury scare: "Everyone was afraid when he was down." However, he got up and left with his usual smile. He didn't talk to me. However, the doctor has not delivered any unfavourable news, so perhaps everything is OK.

Regarding Nico Gonzalez's overall performance and influence: "I want to share with you the reason [it] was so successful. You'll then ask me why we didn't do it earlier. The goal is always to do it, but it didn't work out the first time.

"The 50/50 balls that Nico won were a huge boost to us. He is intelligent and aggressive, although he is only 23 years old. It's a huge compliment, but he feels a connection to it, like a miniature Rodri. He has acclimated to the group so well and will be of great assistance to us."

Howe: We must return to the fundamentals.
Eddie Howe, head coach of Newcastle:

"We're really unhappy with how we performed overall. I thought we would compete. We were off on our duels, therefore the ball wasn't there. They hold the ball for extended lengths of time, making them the Premier League's best team during the build-up phase. We made a mistake on that one.

"We're not flawless. On other days, we may not be able to see ourselves as the team we are on.

"The game was over, but we were much better in the second quarter. We were a yard off and gave their players too much room, which made it agonising to watch from the sidelines. Although their run has received a lot of attention, City is the league's strongest team when it comes to ball control. Next week, it's back to basics for us.