Marmoush Shines, Monaco Dominates, Sturm Storms On

Manchester City scored four goals against Newcastle United, but Erling Haaland did not find the back of the net. The hero of the match was the club’s recent £59 million signing from Eintracht Frankfurt, Omar Marmoush, who scored a hat-trick in the first half. This performance sent a message to the rest of the Premier League that Manchester City’s recent problems may be coming to an end. James McAtee scored the other goal for the home team, while there was a scare when Haaland went off injured in the closing stages of the game.

Arsenal won 2-0 at Leicester City, with both goals coming from Mikel Merino in the final eight minutes of normal time. Liverpool maintained their position at the top of the table, beating Wolves 2-1 with goals from Luis Díaz and Mo Salah. Brentford won 1-0 at West Ham thanks to a fourth-minute effort from Kevin Schade, while Crystal Palace were beaten 2-1 at home by Everton. Bournemouth piled more pressure on Southampton, winning 3-1 at St. Mary’s. Manchester United’s season continued to disappoint at Tottenham, where they lost 1-0. Spurs’ winning goal came in the 13th minute through James Maddison.

Ligue 1: Marseille and Monaco Prolific in Front of Goal

Over 66,000 fans watched Olympique Marseille beat Saint-Étienne 5-1 at the Velodrome, with new signing Amine Gouiri scoring twice and Mason Greenwood, Adrien Rabiot, and Michael Murillo also on the scoresheet. Gouiri joined OM from Rennes for €19 million in the January transfer window. Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain had to work hard for their latest win, 1-0 at Toulouse, with the winner coming from Fabián Ruiz in the 52nd minute. Lyon also won away from home, beating Montpellier 4-1.

Eredivisie: Ajax Go Clear at Top

Ajax won 4-0 against Heracles at the Johan Cruyff Arena to go two points clear of PSV Eindhoven. Goals from Mika Godt, Brian Brobbey, Jorrel Hato, and Davy Klaassen (his 100th for Ajax) gave them a convincing victory. Feyenoord, in fourth, drew 0-0 in Breda.

The KNVB Cup has reached the semi-final stage, and PSV are the only one of the big three to still be in with a shout. They will play Go Ahead Eagles, while Heracles will meet AZ. The semi-finals will be on February 26 and 27, respectively.

In the Austrian Bundesliga, Sturm Graz slipped up away at Wolfsberger, who beat the champions 3-0. Two goals from Daniel Fitz, one either side of half-time, gave FK Austria Wien a 2-1 victory over Vienna rivals Rapid at the Generali Arena.

Borussia Dortmund’s Bundesliga performances are becoming a worry, as they were beaten 2-0 by relegation-threatened Bochum. At the top of the table, Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich drew 0-0 in a game largely dominated by the home team.

In La Liga, Jude Bellingham appears to be getting a reputation for disrespecting match officials. He was sent off for supposedly swearing at the referee as Real Madrid drew 1-1 with Osasuna. Atlético Madrid also drew, 1-1 at home to Celta Vigo, while Sevilla had a comfortable 4-0 away win at bottom-placed Real Valladolid.

In the Polish Ekstraklasa, Lech Poznań, who went into the weekend three points ahead of their nearest challengers, were beaten 1-0 at home by third-placed Raków Częstochowa. Jagiellonia Białystok, who are in second place, are now level on points with Lech Poznań following their 3-0 victory over Motor Lublin.

In Serie A, Antonio Conte is starting to get a complex about Lazio, who held his Napoli side to a 2-2 draw in Rome. Juventus won the Derby d’Italia 1-0 to prevent Inter from leapfrogging Napoli at the top. AC Milan made hard work of beating Verona, with Santiago Giménez netting the winner 15 minutes from the end.

Take a look at the top hat-trick scorers from around Europe:

In conclusion, it was a busy weekend of football across Europe, with several teams and players making headlines. Keep an eye out for more exciting action in the coming weeks!