Sporting CP secure stunning victory over Manchester City in perfect send-off for Ruben Amorim
It was a night that will live long in the memory for Sporting CP fans, who earned a sensational 4-1 victory over Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City to move 2nd in the Champions League standings and bring Ruben Amorim’s time at the Alvalade to the most perfect of ends.
Sporting were second best throughout the first half, standing off Manchester City as they showed significant respect to their highly regarded opponents.
Indeed, in what proved to be a nervy opening, it was the visitors who inevitably struck first, Morita caught in possession in midfield before Phil Foden’s effort somehow made its way past Israel in the Sporting goal after just 4 minutes, and there were concerns that we could have another ugly repeat of the 5-0 drubbing Sporting had the last time these two sides met in Lisbon two years ago.
Manchester City continued to dominate the ball, but Sporting so nearly found a quick response, Pedro Goncalves nicking the ball near the halfway line before playing in Gyokeres, whose chipped effort one-on-one with Ederson was easily saved.
Many thought such an uncharacteristic miss by Sporting’s Swedish star would prove costly, particularly as Man City continued to apply the pressure and continued to look the most likely to score the next goal.
However, Gyokeres would eventually get another golden opportunity - this one much more challenging than his first - but on this occasion he made no mistake, his dinking effort dropping in over Ederson to the jubilation of the fans in a packed Alvalade stadium.
It was in the second half that Sporting seemed to spring into life, an extraordinary opening three minutes seing Aruajo smash Sporting into the lead just 22 seconds after the restart, before Gyokeres bagged his second of the game from the penalty spot after Trincao was brought down in the area following a clumsy challenge.
As if from nowehere, Sporting were 3-1 up and in dreamland, with Ruben Amorim seemingly delivering the perfect half time team talk to galvanise his side and see them take a sensational lead over the 2023 Champions League winners.
Things were far from straightforward as Sporting looked to see out a historic result though, with Manchester City beginning to get back on top in the game, and had a huge opportunity to get back into the match when awarded a penalty upon VAR review. Haaland stepped up and could only strike the bar though, causing the stadium to erupt with delight.
To add the icing on the cake, Sporting would go on to get their fourth with 10 minutes left on the clock, Geny Catamo brought down by former Sporting man Matheus Nunes, allowing Gyokeres to get his hattrick with another emphatic conversion from the spot.
It is the first time Manchester City have conceded four goals in a Champions League match since 2016, and is a result that will have Manchester United fans licking their lips as they await the arrival of Ruben Amorim.
As for Sporting, even with expectations having been ramped up so markedly under Amorim’s stewardship, few would have seen them reaching these heights, currently sitting second in the 36-team Champions League league phase standings, only behind Liverpool, but the lingering feeling of what could have been this season will persist as they wonder just what they could have achieved had Amorim seen out the season.
