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Roberto De Zerbi has found his answer to the Omar Marmoush and Dominic Solanke conundrum

ByJoe Soriano
Tottenham Hotspur v Coventry City - Premier League 2026/27
Tottenham Hotspur v Coventry City - Premier League 2026/27 | Marc Atkins/GettyImages

Tottenham Hotspur were able to pull off their first victory of the 2026/27 Premier League season on Monday Night Football, with Omar Marmoush scoring with a great finish into the far corner as Spurs took down newly promoted Coventry 3-1 on Monday Night Football.

Cristiano Ronaldo used to say that goals are like ketchup. The bottle can feel stuck, but after the first drop comes out, the rest flows quite nicely. And Tottenham will be hoping that this will be the case for Marmoush after his finish into the far corner, which should become a trademark for him going forward for Spurs as this goal boosts his confidence.

Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi is without Marmoush's old Manchester City teammate Savio, who suffered a muscular injury just before the game against Coventry and was easily Spurs best attacking player beforehand. And yet, Spurs still put three past Coventry, with Dominic Solanke grabbing an assist and Marmoush finding the back of the net for the first time in his young Spurs career.

Omar Marmoush and Dominic Solanke help each other

Marmoush and Solanke did not have the most profound all around impact on the game, but they were positives for Spurs - and that hasn't been the case in most of the games this season. And yet they did it together, playing almost like a striker pairing, with Marmoush just a little bit deeper than Solanke.

If Savio is out, Roberto De Zerbi may have just stumbled upon a striker partnership of Marmoush and Solanke being the solution and that these two can co exist with each other. But even though Mohammed Kudus played well, what he also realized is that Marmoush cutting inside off the left and starting as almost a second striker in that inverted winger role next to Dominic Solanke in the middle - with Savio, of course, then cutting inside off the right of the formation with his left foot - being a solution for Spurs.

What De Zerbi is realizing in seeing Tottenham have their best offensive performance with Marmoush and Solanke together is that the answer isn't necessarily an either or proposition with his two best theoretical scorers in the squad. It is a "both" answer to the equation, because Marmoush and Solanke are more supplemental scorers who, in combination, can potentially supplement each other into being greater than the sum of their parts. Solanke can use his frame to shield the ball and bring Marmoush in, and Marmoush can use his skill and creativity to help destabilize the tight spaces.

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