Incoming Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has urged fans to temper their expectations after his Sporting CP side stunned Manchester City with a 4-1 win in his final home game.
Despite the impressive scoreline, Amorim played down the result on Tuesday, calling it “misleading” and attributing the outcome to good fortune on Sporting’s part.
The 38-year-old Portuguese coach will take over at Old Trafford during the upcoming international break, where he will face a different level of scrutiny and pressure.
Speaking after the match, Amorim cautioned United supporters against drawing conclusions from Sporting’s victory over City.
“It was written that it had to be like this. 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,” Amorim said after his final game at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.
Viktor Gyokeres starred for Sporting, netting a hat-trick that included two penalties, while Maxi Araujo also scored.
City initially took the lead through Phil Foden, and later, Erling Haaland struck the bar with a penalty that could have shifted the momentum.
Amorim, aware of the anticipation surrounding his arrival at Manchester United, sought to clarify that his success in Portugal would not directly translate 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,” he said.
Before the match, Amorim had already warned against unrealistic expectations, reminding United fans not to assume he’d immediately replicate the dominance of Sir Alex Ferguson.
“I’ve 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 we will have to adapt,” he explained.
Acknowledging the challenges that lie ahead, Amorim noted United’s recent struggles, with the club winning only two of their last ten fixtures.
“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,” he said.
Amorim concluded with a message to Manchester United fans stating, “People can make their own judgments but I say to the people of Manchester that this was a one-off.”
Before he officially joins United, Amorim will lead Sporting in his final game against Sporting Braga this weekend, closing a successful chapter in Lisbon before taking on the formidable task at Old Trafford.