Journalist claims around 100 million Egyptians watched Manchester City match | OneFootball

Manchester City’s mammoth Premier League clash with Liverpool on Sunday afternoon could have been watched by as many as 100 million Egyptians, a journalist has claimed.

The Premier League champions came up against Arne Slot’s champions-elect on Sunday afternoon in a damning reflection of the seismic gap that has built up between the two teams this season.

During the most-part of Jurgen Klopp’s tenure at Anfield, Manchester City against Liverpool was the battle of the campaign as the two clubs relentlessly went toe-to-toe in an enthralling contest for Premier League trophy after Premier League trophy.

The fall-off from Pep Guardiola’s side has left them scrambling for a place in the top-four, while the Merseyside club are running away at a canter for their second league crown in recent times after their 2019/20 success.

But while there may not have been too much at stake in terms of a direct challenge for the top-flight trophy at the weekend, a new face-off on the pitch attracted enormous attention from one North African country.

Speaking as part of a wider report into the excitement that built around Mo Salah and Omar Marmoush in the Premier League, prominent Egyptian sports journalist Ismael Mahmoud pointed towards the remarkable interest that the two players drew over the weekend.

“The Cairo derby is a big, big game here,” Mahmoud pointed out, in reference to the clash between Al-Ahly and Zamalek last Saturday evening, during a conversation with The Times.

“But I think more people will follow Man City-Liverpool,” he continued. “It is the match that everyone has been talking about since Marmoush moved to City.

“I expect around 100 million Egyptians to watch this game, no exaggeration.”

It was ultimately Mo Salah and Liverpool who claimed the victory on Sunday afternoon, with the Anfield forward showcasing his immense role in the Merseyside club’s ongoing remarkable season with an impressive attacking showing.

Opening the scoring with a deflected effort off the foot of Nathan Ake at a set-piece, Mo Salah then set-up his side’s second to double their advantage before the half-time interval as Dominik Szoboszlai converted.

As for Omar Marmoush, the Manchester City forward took on more of an attacking midfield role alongside Kevin De Bruyne, and while not as noteworthy as his outing against Newcastle last weekend, did add some much-needed energy into Pep Guardiola’s side.