LONDON — Erling Haaland believes his new strike partner Omar Marmoush will be a “fantastic” signing for Manchester City after an impressive debut in the English champions’ 3-1 win over Chelsea.
Marmoush had a goal ruled out for offside before Josko Gvardiol levelled for the home side before halftime.
Haaland was the difference maker as City leapfrogged the Blues into fourth in the Premier League despite a nightmare start for another new signing Abdukodir Khusanov.
The Uzbek’s error gifted Chelsea the lead inside three minutes through Noni Madueke.
The tactic of hitting Haaland’s physical presence with long balls from goalkeeper Ederson then turned the game decisively in the favour of Pep Guardiola’s men.
Haaland shrugged off Trevoh Chalobah to chip in his 24th goal of the season before teeing up Phil Foden for City’s third.
Marmoush scored 20 goals in 26 appearances for Eintracht Frankfurt this season before making the move to Manchester for a £59 million ($72.6 million) fee this week.
“I think in the first half you could see he has something special. That is obviously the reason Manchester City bought him,” said Haaland according to AFP.
“It’s about giving him confidence. He’s going to be a fantastic player for us.
“He had an amazing first half of the season for Eintracht Frankfurt. Hopefully he’s going to have the same second half of the season for us.”
City faces a huge week ahead as they must beat Club Brugge at home on Wednesday to avoid an early exit from the Champions League before travelling to second-placed Arsenal in the Premier League next weekend.
Haaland is hoping they can kick on after a fourth win in five league games.
“When we had the start like we did it is difficult but we played really well and we kept on going and kept on going,” added Haaland.
“We kept pushing and second half was the same. In the end it is what we need to do.”
City boss Guardiola, meanwhile, praised the reaction of Khusanov’s teammates to lift the young Uzbek after a nightmare introduction to the Premier League in the 3-1 win over Chelsea.
The 20-year-old, who joined from Lens for a reported £34 million ($42 million) this week, gifted Chelsea the opening goal, scored by Noni Madueke, with a poor header after just three minutes.
Khusanov was then booked and lucky to avoid a red card for chopping down Cole Palmer before he was replaced early in the second half by John Stones.
But he was warmly embraced by Guardiola and his fellow players on the bench and supported by the City fans as he trudged off the pitch.
“I thought ‘not the best start’,” said Guardiola on his reaction to the opening minutes.
“But dealing with (Nicolas) Jackson, with Cole, with all these incredible players, it’s not easy, and I loved the reaction of his mates.”
Guardiola accepted his own responsibility for throwing Khusanov straight into the heart of the action due to his injury crisis in defence.
Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias were again missing, while Stones’ minutes were managed ahead of Wednesday’s crucial Champions League clash against Club Brugge.
“I have to learn Russian or Uzbek to communicate with him because he doesn’t speak English fluently. But listen, in this kind of situation, there’s nothing much to say. He knows he made a mistake,” Guardiola said.
“What can I say? ‘Don’t do a mistake’. He doesn’t want to do it. We know that. The reaction in the match was amazing.
“I made the substitution for John, mainly for the yellow card. Not just for the mistake. Especially, I need John for Wednesday.”
City’s other new signing Omar Marmoush had a far more impressive debut as the English champions bounced back thanks to goals from Josko Gvardiol, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden to leapfrog Chelsea into fourth in the Premier League.
However, neither Khusanov or Marmoush are eligible to play against Brugge, a match which Guardiola described as a “final”.
Anything other than victory against the Belgian champions will see City crash out before the knockout stages.
