Egypt Forward Omar Marmoush Lighting up the Bundesliga

Frankfurt's Egyptian forward #07 Omar Marmoush celebrates his 1-1 during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Eintracht Frankfurt and FC Bayern Munich in Frankfurt, western Germany on October 6, 2024. (AFP)
Frankfurt's Egyptian forward #07 Omar Marmoush celebrates his 1-1 during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Eintracht Frankfurt and FC Bayern Munich in Frankfurt, western Germany on October 6, 2024. (AFP)
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Egypt Forward Omar Marmoush Lighting up the Bundesliga

Frankfurt's Egyptian forward #07 Omar Marmoush celebrates his 1-1 during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Eintracht Frankfurt and FC Bayern Munich in Frankfurt, western Germany on October 6, 2024. (AFP)
Frankfurt's Egyptian forward #07 Omar Marmoush celebrates his 1-1 during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Eintracht Frankfurt and FC Bayern Munich in Frankfurt, western Germany on October 6, 2024. (AFP)

Egypt forward Omar Marmoush is the man of the moment in the Bundesliga after a blistering start to the season for Eintracht Frankfurt.

Marmoush denied Bayern Munich a win in a thrilling game Sunday with a stoppage-time equalizer that made it 3-3. It was his second goal of the game. He also set up the other for Hugo Ekitiké, when he ran clear of Dayot Upamecano on a counterattack.

"Marmoush is a player who’s only going to get better with time," Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said. "What he did for Ekitiké’s goal is not normal. To push past Upa with strength, no one did that before for the whole season.

"And then to make the right decision at the end, the quality in his strike, and the speed. Sometimes he looks quite relaxed, then when he gets going, he’s really fast."

Marmoush has been stealing the attention from Bayern star Harry Kane, who failed to score Sunday and has five goals from six Bundesliga games this season.

Marmoush, who has now scored in five games straight, has eight, while he has also set up another six for his Frankfurt teammates.

"We’re like a family," he said. "You see that on the field, when we’re celebrating, the ones who didn’t play (join), we celebrate as a team."

Marmoush appears to have made a jump in performance since last season, when he scored 12 goals and set up nine in his 29 Bundesliga appearances.

Frankfurt coach Dino Toppmöller said he had made a "little deal" before the season with Marmoush, but wouldn’t reveal what it is.

"I told him that a second year with us would do him good because he’s on the way up and hasn’t reached the end," Toppmöller said. "And you can see that in this fantastic season."

The 25-year-old Marmoush is the latest in a long line of forwards who have excelled at Frankfurt, after Randal Kolo Muani, Sébastien Haller, Luka Jović and Jay-Jay Okocha.

Marmoush has had to be patient, working his way through at Wolfsburg, St. Pauli and Stuttgart after joining the former from Cairo-based Wadi Degla SC in 2017.

It’s only since he joined Frankfurt in 2023 that the tireless attacker has added goals to his repertoire.

On Sunday, he combined well with Ekitiké, while Éric Junior Dina Ebimbe headed the ball into his path for Marmoush's second goal.

"When I came last season, we took time to play together and to know what he likes on the pitch, what I like also, and I think in time we just created a connection," Ekitiké said. "Today he had two goals, one assist, So, yeah, he helped the team a lot."

Marmoush’s transformation into a goal-getter is good news for Egypt, which struggled for them without the injured Mohamed Salah at the African Cup of Nations in January.

Marmoush only scored one as the seven-time champion lost on penalties to Congo in the round of 16.

Next up for Frankfurt is a visit to defending champion Bayer Leverkusen after the international break.



Man City Favorites, but FA Cup Door Wide Open for Seven Others

A combination of file pictures created in London on March 28, 2025, shows Bournemouth's Spanish manager Andoni Iraola (L) looking on before the English Premier League football match between Fulham and Bournemouth at Craven Cottage in London on December 29, 2024 and Manchester City’s coach Pep Guardiola (R) attending a press conference at Alvalade stadium in Lisbon, on November 4, 2024. (AFP)
A combination of file pictures created in London on March 28, 2025, shows Bournemouth's Spanish manager Andoni Iraola (L) looking on before the English Premier League football match between Fulham and Bournemouth at Craven Cottage in London on December 29, 2024 and Manchester City’s coach Pep Guardiola (R) attending a press conference at Alvalade stadium in Lisbon, on November 4, 2024. (AFP)
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Man City Favorites, but FA Cup Door Wide Open for Seven Others

A combination of file pictures created in London on March 28, 2025, shows Bournemouth's Spanish manager Andoni Iraola (L) looking on before the English Premier League football match between Fulham and Bournemouth at Craven Cottage in London on December 29, 2024 and Manchester City’s coach Pep Guardiola (R) attending a press conference at Alvalade stadium in Lisbon, on November 4, 2024. (AFP)
A combination of file pictures created in London on March 28, 2025, shows Bournemouth's Spanish manager Andoni Iraola (L) looking on before the English Premier League football match between Fulham and Bournemouth at Craven Cottage in London on December 29, 2024 and Manchester City’s coach Pep Guardiola (R) attending a press conference at Alvalade stadium in Lisbon, on November 4, 2024. (AFP)

Manchester City are favorites to win this season's FA Cup and salvage something from a troubled season but the seven other clubs left in a wide-open draw may never have a better opportunity to win the trophy.

None of the five most successful clubs in FA Cup history -- Arsenal, holders Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur or Liverpool -- are in the quarter-finals.

City, who travel to Bournemouth on Sunday, won the Cup for a seventh time two years ago but of the other teams in this weekend's quarter-finals, the most recent winner is Nottingham Forest who went all the way in 1959.

The combined FA Cup triumphs of the eight clubs left is 18 -- the lowest since 1997 -- and seven of those were for Aston Villa who have not won it since 1957.

Second-tier Preston North End, who host Villa on Sunday, are statistically the third most successful FA Cup team left but 1938 was the last time they lifted the trophy.

Action begins on Saturday with a London derby between Fulham and Crystal Palace, two clubs who have never won the FA Cup or any major silverware for that matter.

Fulham reached the final in 1975 while Palace have made two finals, losing to Manchester United in 1990 and again in 2016.

A cracking atmosphere is expected at Craven Cottage as the evenly-matched Premier League rivals seek a semi-final spot.

Saturday's later game sees Brighton & Hove Albion, whose one FA Cup final appearance was in 1983, host Forest.

Like Forest, Brighton are also chasing European qualification through the Premier League and they will be keen to avenge a 7-0 league hammering against Nuno Espirito Santo's team at the beginning of February.

Brighton are unbeaten since then and Fabian Hurzeler's in-form side are tipped to make him the youngest manager to win the FA Cup since Stan Cullis, also 32, led Wolverhampton Wanderers to the trophy in 1949.

"In this phase of the season, we need to have the belief. And I have the biggest belief in this group -- the belief that they can win and that they can achieve a season everyone remembers," the German said on Friday.

Preston are bidding to become the first club outside the top flight to reach the FA Cup final since Cardiff City in 2008.

Sitting 14th in the Championship table, they will hope a passionate crowd at Deepdale will help them stun a Villa team who have reached the quarter-finals for the first time since 2015 when they went on to reach the final and lose to Arsenal.

"We are in the quarter-finals and that's a bit of magic for the Cup," Preston midfielder Stefan Thordarson. "It's harder and harder but we have shown that teams like us can do it.

"It's up for grabs for anyone this year."

The quarter-finals conclude on Sunday with Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth hoping to shut off Manchester City's last remaining route to silverware this season at the Vitality Stadium.

Bournemouth, four points behind City in the Premier League in 10th spot, are in the quarter-finals for only the third time.

"I think we have a big opportunity this weekend, anyone who steps on the pitch has to be ready to give everything, and even that might not be enough to beat City," Iraola said.

"But the chance to play at Wembley -- for City it is less important as they play there a lot, but for us it is huge."

City are seeking a seventh successive semi-final.