Ruben Amorim plays down Manchester United expectations after Sporting thrash Man City: ‘This was a one-off’
The incoming Old Trafford boss saw off Pep Guardiola’s English champions but warned off imagining it’ll be that easy at his new job
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Your support makes all the difference.Ruben Amorim has warned Manchester United supporters not to be sucked in by the scoreline after he won his final home game as Sporting CP boss 4-1 against soon-to-be local rivals Manchester City.
The Portuguese head coach will make the move to Old Trafford during the international break, and while he was delighted to have his tenure at the Estadio Jose Alvalade end in such a fashion, he acknowledged the scoreline was “misleading” and that his team had been “very lucky” on the night in the Champions League.
Viktor Gyokeres hit a hat-trick, including two penalties, and Maxi Araujo scored another as Pep Guardiola’s side were shocked after taking an early lead through Phil Foden, with Erling Haaland later hitting the bar with a spot-kick of his own
“It was written it had to be like this,” Amorim said after the match.
“It [this result] is misleading. We were very lucky in this game. But the feeling with my players, the way they celebrated the win with the fans, was very special.
“I take this to the Premier League. When I arrive there it will be a different world, with different pressure. I will try to be the same. It will be fun - very fun - and I am ready for the challenge.”
Ahead of the match he had already cautioned against United fans imagining he’d be the new Alex Ferguson if Sporting won the fixture, and explained further why such a showing cannot simply be copied from the Primeira Liga side to the Red Devils.
Perhaps aware of the state of the side he’s about to join - United having won two of their last ten fixtures - Amorim sought to temper immediate expectations and underline that he himself would have to make changes.
“I already said previously you cannot transport one reality into another. At 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 final game as boss of the Lisbon club is away to Sporting Braga this weekend, before the international break.
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