MI AMOR
Sporting Lisbon 4 Man City 1: Ruben Amorim produces tactical masterclass to make huge statement ahead of Man Utd move
Scroll down to watch Gyokeres complete his hat-trick
THEY’LL be rolling out the red carpet for Ruben Amorim in Manchester on Monday now.
And they should be having a whip round at Old Trafford to get Viktor Gyokeres to follow him to Old Trafford as soon as possible.
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Together they produced the ultimate fairytale farewell to the Jose Alvalade Stadium for the United-bound boss.
What an extraordinary way to endear himself to his new fans.
His team inflicted a first Champions League defeat in 90 minutes on Pep Guardiola’s mighty Manchester City since May 2022 – 32 matches ago.
Not to mention the heaviest loss in any competition in over four years for the 'noisy neighbours'.
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If this is the kind of entertainment that is heading for the Theatre of Dreams, then fasten your seatbelts.
Gyokeres got a hat-trick – including two penalties – to enhance his reputation as one of the hottest properties in Europe.
He could have had more too and looks exactly what goal-shy United need right now.
They say if you can’t be a good manager then be a lucky one – and Amorim certainly had his share of good fortune.
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City bossed the first-half and should have been out of sight – while Erling Haaland also uncharacteristically missed a second-half pen.
But credit to Amorim and his team for hanging in there and then hitting the English champs with some stunning breakaways.
New Man Utd manager Ruben Amorim in awkward interview with reporter
The manager was given a huge ovation by the crowd before kick-off - while a huge banner showed the trophies he has won and simply said "thank you".
Yet he had expressed his worries before kick-off that the emotion of the last week might affect his players.
And sure enough they began nervously despite their excellent start to the season and fell behind within four minutes.
Keeper Franco Israel rolled a pass to Hidemasa Morita who didn’t look best pleased when he was dispossessed in the blink of an eye by Foden.
The England ace took a couple more touches before thumping a shot past the Sporting keeper – who might be disappointed not to keep it out.
Foden has now scored in eight of his last nine appearances in this competition and seems to be going through the gears after a slow start to the season.
Yet the home side could have levelled within a couple of minutes as Gyokeres nipped in ahead of Rico Lewis and raced through on goal from his own half.
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The in-form former Coventry man never looked confident though as Ederson stood up to him and his chipped effort was weak.
Back at the other end, Haaland saw one chance clawed away by Israel and blazed another wide after a delightful pass from Matheus Nunes.
The Norwegian was getting plenty of opportunities and saw a looping header hoofed off the line before Israel flung himself to keep out a volley.
Haaland was being made to wait for his 45th goal in this competition – but you know with him it wont be long.
Stand-in skipper Bernardo Silva latched onto a cheeky back-heel from Foden but steered his shot just past the post.
Sporting have won all ten of their domestic league games this season and were neck-and-neck with City in the table.
City should have been out of sight given their chance - they weren’t though – and were made to pay shortly before the break.
Geovany Quenda found Gyokeres and this time he held off teenage defender Jahmai Simpson-Pusey before clipping home his shot.
The Swedish forward – who now has 25 goals this season for club and country - is a huge cult figure in Lisbon and the fans went wild.
Don’t be surprised if a bid comes in from Old Trafford before long.
As the home fans celebrated, Amorim called a quartet of players over to dish out some tactical advice. No sign of him clocking off early.
He can clearly give a half-time team talk too as his side came roaring out for the second-half.
Just 19 seconds after the restart the home side were ahead as Pedro Goncalves threaded a pass to Max Araujo whose shot went straight through Ederson.
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The home fans were still celebrating as Josko Gvardiol lost the ball on the left and then upended Francisco Trincao.
It was a clear penalty and Gyokeres did the rest – sending the City keeper the wrong way with an emphatic spot-kick.
City were shell-shocked as they faced up to the prospect of losing three games in a row for the first time in six years.
They got a lifeline midway through the second-half as Silva’s shot hit the arm of Ousmane Diomande.
After a long VAR check a penalty was given and after an even longer wait, Haaland hammered his spot-kick against the bar.
It was clearly Amorim’s night – and not City’s.
And that much was clear as former Sporting star Nunes shoved over Geny Catamo in the box to earn the third pen of the night.
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Gyokeres kept his cool and rattled in from the spot again to spark more bedlam and complete his hat-trick.
Welcome to Manchester, Ruben Amorim.
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