Tottenham Hotspur managed to defeat rivals Chelsea 2-0 for a rare win at Stamford Bridge, but it was telling that both goals the Lilywhites scored came after Omar Marmoush had left the pitch for Dominic Solanke as the starting striker.
Roberto De Zerbi had surprised many fans by starting Marmoush up top without Solanke, as Solanke had been starting pretty regularly recently. And well know, based on what De Zerbi has said to the press over the past few weeks, that the manager is high on the England international and believes in his skill set.
But even though Solanke and Marmoush seemed to benefit from playing together as Spurs defeated Coventry on Monday Night Football 3-1 for what was their best result of the season, De Zerbi went with the original plan when Marmoush was first signed by starting the Manchester City man alone with Mohammed Kudus and Mathys Tel flanking him on either side.
Omar Marmoush is no upgrade on Dominic Solanke
Omar Marmoush was dreary. He really struggled to get into scoring positions, and for someone who is supposed to be even more well rounded and quick than Solanke - with Tim Howard even referring to the former Bundesliga star as Tottenham's Joao Pedro profile - he was surprisingly toothless and uninventive on the ball.
Tottenham Hotspur will be celebrating their 2-0 victory over the Blues, but the win was no thanks to Marmoush, who literally had nothing to do with either goal his team scored. As was the case earlier this season in some of Spurs worst results, Marmoush was sloppy with his touch, and if he wants to be in that central role and playing off others as a 9, then he is going to have to bring the wingers into the game more.
Marmoush had no chances created and just one dribble completed and one shot on target. He failed in all sense of how a 9 should operate, and while Dominic Solanke has not been much better, the fact that there is no material difference in them statistically is deeply disappointing since Spurs spent so much on the player.
Chelsea's defense isn't exactly Murderer's Row, to borrow an old baseball euphemism, and that has to be another disappointing layer to the Marmoush display. Spurs and Roberto De Zerbi gave their new 27 year old forward a real chance to shine, and he clearly failed to seize the moment. The ball is going to be back in Solanke's court next weekend vs. Crystal Palace.
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