Manchester City vs Manchester United is often a tasty affair, but the upcoming clash between the two city rivals has an added bit of spice.
New Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim famously bested Pep Guardiola’s side in the Champions League in his final home game in charge of Sporting Lisbon at the Jose Alvalade Stadium.
While the hosts will be the favourites in the Man City vs Man United odds at the Etihad on December 15, the visitors endure something of a new manager bounce under the Portuguese boss.
Not only that, Amorim would have also discovered a fair bit about his new cross-city counterparts from that commanding 4-1 win in the Champions League.
It looked like it was potentially going to be a long night for Sporting when Phil Foden fired Man City into the lead in Lisbon.
However, Amorim remained calm and composed on the sideline—something former Man United boss Erik ten Hag lacked during his time at Old Trafford—helping his men keep their heads after the early goal.
Sporting eventually settled into the game with Viktor Gyokeres scoring an equaliser just before the break, which seemed to swing momentum in the home side’s favour and inject belief into the crowd.
Maximiliano Araujo fired the hosts into the lead just seconds into the second, and Sporting capitalised on their lead with assurance—Gyokeres netting twice more to raise his stock further.
Man United fans obviously loved what they saw from their incoming manager, but Amorim fears he might have set the bar too high and was quick to pour cold water on the result that shocked the football odds.
“It’s misleading, we were very lucky today, but the feeling with my players, the way they celebrate with the fans was very special,” the former teammate of Man United legend Cristiano Ronaldo said after the game.
“I take this with me but when I arrive to the Premier League it is a different world, different pressure.”
Misleading or not, Amorim is arriving in the Premier League with plenty of fanfare. The 39-year-old has been a wanted man by England’s top sides for a while.
In the summer, both Liverpool and West Ham United approached Sporting for his services as they sought replacements for Jurgen Klopp and David Moyes, respectively.
However, Amorim claims to have rejected the Reds and the Hammers despite being offered more money because he was holding off for the Man United position—which, again, is music to the ears of the Stratford End faithful.
His former side Braga attempted to spoil the final game with Sporting before the international break, going 2-0 up in the first half. However, Leões came back in the second to win 4-2—maintaining their unbeaten start to the season after 11 games.
It was quite the week for Amorim, who said that a movie should be made about his time at Sporting, and Manchester United fans who had a close eye on their new manager during his final days in Portugal will be feeling very confident about his arrival at Old Trafford.
