- In one of his final games as Sporting CP manager, Rùben Amorim oversaw a demolition of new club Manchester United’s local rivals Manchester City
- United fans were quick to react to Sporting’s 4-1 Champions League victory
- Amorim was quick to temper expectations in his post-match interviews
The tenure of Rùben Amorim as Head Coach of Manchester United could not have got off to a more perfect start. And he hasn’t even arrived at Old Trafford yet.
The Portuguese coach (who I EXPERTLY predicted would be highly unlikely to take over as head coach literally a day before it was announced he’d been appointed) will officially take charge of United on November 11, but is already delighting Red Devils fans by inflicting a spectacular defeat on one of their most loathedn rivals in the Champions League, last night.
Despite falling behind to a first-half Phil Foden strike, Portuguese Champions Sporting roared back to secure a famous victory at the Estádio José Alvalade, with an emphatic hat-trick from Swedish goal machine Viktor Gyökeres inspiring a memorable comeback win.
United fans following the game loved what they saw from their incoming manager’s current charges, dismantling Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Premier League champions, just over a month before the first Manchester derby of the season.
As Red Devils’ supporters celebrated their rivals embarrassment (a third consecutive loss for City. The first time such a streak has occured since 2018) and ramped up the hype machine for their latest in a long line of ‘Chosen One’s’ since Sir Alex Ferguson’s 2013 retirement, Amorim himself was eager to temper expectations in his post-match press conference.
“I already said previously you cannot transport one reality into another. Manchester United you cannot play exactly like this. You cannot play so defensively and so there we will have to adapt. Clearly it is really difficult to beat this team and to beat Pep Guardiola. And he is not a worse manager than me.
“It will be a completely different world, a different team, we won’t have that much time to train and we will begin from a different starting point. People can make their own judgements but I say to the people of Manchester that this was a one-off.”
Amorim’s Sporting are undefeated in all competitions this season and currently sit top of the Portuguese league, after winning their opening 10 matches, scoring 35 goals and conceding only three along the way. In the Champions League, meanwhile, the champions of Portugal have won three and drawn one of their opening four fixtures.
The first match of the Amorim era at Old Trafford will take place at Ipswich Town’s Portman Road on November 24 as United take on the recently promoted Tractor Boys, who are yet to win a league game this season.
