Amorim & Gyokeres PASS Man City test with flying colours

Cameron Smith

• 5 Nov 2024 21:57 GMT
• 4 min read

Manchester United fans will be buoyed by Ruben Amorim’s final home match as Sporting CP boss, with the Lisbon giants earning a memorable 4-1 victory over Manchester City in the Champions League.

Phil Foden opened the scoring inside the first five minutes and Pep Guardiola’s side soon stamped their authority on the fixture with their typical possession-heavy approach.

However, Sporting maintained an immense threat on the counter-attack, with Amorim’s set-up enabling them to pounce on a fragile Man City backline on a number of occasions.

READ MORE: Save us, Gyokeres! Berbatov slams 'embarrassing' Man Utd strikers

In fact, Viktor Gyokeres missed a huge one-on-one chance during the first-half, with a horrific chipped attempt easily gathered by Man City goalkeeper Ederson. But, the Sweden international put things right in the 38th minute as he powered past Jahmai Simpson-Pusey before firing the ball past Ederson to net his 21st goal of the campaign.

Maximiliano Araujo put Sporting ahead just 20 seconds into the second-half, while Gyokeres notched his second goal of the evening from the penalty spot three minutes later. In the 81st minute, he repeated the trick with yet another converted penalty to seal his hat-trick.

Erling Haaland, by contrast, missed his penalty kick in the 69th minute, with the Norwegian smashing the crossbar with his effort from 12 yards out.

READ MORE: Gyokeres breaks silence on joining Amorim at Man Utd

Ruben Amorim & Viktor Gyokeres shine vs Man City

Ahead of the match, Amorim joked: “If the result is negative, expectations will lower. If we win, they'll think the new Alex Ferguson has arrived!”

As a result, Man Utd fans will no doubt be dreaming of future glory under the Portuguese tactician’s guidance after Sporting’s victory.

Man City created over 2.2 xG across the entire 90 minutes, but Sporting ‘keeper Franco Israel was only forced to make four saves, while Gyokeres’ physicality and speed caused both Simpson-Busey and Manuel Akanji constant problems.

The Sweden star has insisted that he isn’t thinking about following Amorim to Old Trafford, but Man Utd are reportedly interested in signing the 26-year-old and it’s easy to see why.

He now has 23 goals in just 17 appearances across all competitions so far this season and his skillset looks ideally suited for the Premier League.

His first-half miss was glaring and he also squandered a decent opportunity in the 78th minute too, but Gyokeres ultimately bagged a hat-trick against a Man City side managed by Guardiola.

The 26-year-old has developed into one of Europe’s most feared forwards under Amorim’s coaching, with 66 goals in just 67 games for Sporting.

In addition to his exploits in Portugal, Gyokeres also has vast experience of English football, thanks to spells at Brighton & Hove Albion, Swansea City and Coventry City, and Man Utd are eager to beat Arsenal and Barcelona to his signature.

A fixture against Man City promised to be a real test for Amorim and Gyokeres, but they both passed with flying colours and Man Utd fans will be dreaming of a reunion at Old Trafford in 2025.