Ruben Amorim endeared himself to fans of Manchester United, the team where he’ll soon be coach, by leading current club Sporting Lisbon to a 4-1 victory over Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Ahead of his final home game in charge of Sporting after more than four years, Amorim quipped that United fans “will think that the new Alex Ferguson has arrived” if he was able to lead Sporting to victory over City — one of the favourites for the European title.
While that might be too strong — after all, Ferguson is regarded as one of football’s greatest managers after his trophy-laden spell at Old Trafford from 1986-2013 — United supporters might be thinking they finally have a coach who can bring the good times back to a club that has lost its way since the Scot’s departure more than a decade ago.
Someone who can take on — and beat — City’s esteemed manager Pep Guardiola, too.
“He’s so much better than me at the moment,” Amorim said, “but I believe a lot in my new club. We will start from a low level, and we will improve the team, the club.”
Especially if Amorim eventually brings Viktor Gyokeres with him to Manchester.
The Sweden striker led Sporting’s fightback from a goal down at Estadio Jose Alvalade by netting a hat-trick, including two penalties, in a stunning result in the fourth round of league games in the revamped competition. That’s 23 goals in 17 games for Gyokeres this season.
Amorim has already said he wouldn’t look to sign Gyokeres in January but expects the striker to be heading to a bigger team at the end ofthe season.
“Viktor has to stay until the end of the season,” Amorim said, “and then his life maybe is going somewhere else.”
Sporting fans unfurled a huge banner ahead of kick-off bearing the message “Obrigado (thank you) Ruben Amorim,” five days after the 39-year-old coach signed to become the new United manager.
He will take charge of United from Monday, allowing him to complete his commitments with Sporting, which included the match against City and concludes with a trip to Braga on Sunday.
Amorim was thrown in the air by Sporting’s players after the game and walked around the field with the team in a farewell to fans.
“Of course, we will miss him a lot, we have done amazing things together,” Gyokeres said of Amorim, who has led Sporting to two Portuguese league titles in his four full seasons at the club.
In ending City’s record 26-game unbeaten run in the Champions League, Sporting also consigned the Premier League champions to a third straight loss in all competitions — and that hasn’t happened since April 2018.
Their first defeat leaves them on seven points, while Sporting have 10 points from four games.
After the loss, City’s Bernardo Silva said his side were “in a dark place”. “In my seven and a half years at the club, I don’t remember losingthree games in a row,” the midfielder said.
Guardiola, however, did not agree, pointing out that City had played very well for the most part. “It is a tough challenge, but I am here. It will be a tough season — we knew that from the start.
“I have to try and find an explanation. Sometimes it is just football. We have to accept it. Life is that, sport is that,” he told reporters.
City’s goal-scoring machine Erling Haaland missed a penalty in the 69th minute when the score was 3-1. City had taken the lead through Phil Foden in the fourth minute.
The Portuguese league leaders were outplayed for most of the first half butGyokeres levelled it up before the break.
Then, City were caught cold at the start of the second period as Maximiliano Araujo finished a flowing move straight from the kick-off, before Gyokeres put them further ahead minutes later from the penalty spot.
“It was written, because the first half was very tough on us,” Amorim said. “We were very lucky, but then the second half we scored twice in the first minutes and the environment, everything, helped us. lt was an amazing night.”
AP and Reuters
