Ruben Amorim: Record against Premier League clubs

Don’t sweat Manchester United fans, he’s coming. You’re just going to have to wait a little while.

But hey, at least Ruud’s in town.

Ruben Amorim has been officially confirmed as Erik ten Hag’s successor in Manchester, but the Sporting CP boss will not assume the role until the November international break.

Amorim’s Premier League ascent arrives following some excellent work in the Portuguese capital which saw him inherit a situation of considerable dysfunction and quickly evolve Sporting into the best team in the land. He’s highly regarded and already well-decorated, but he’s been handed a poisoned chalice at Old Trafford which has seen some of the sport’s brightest minds succumb.

Excluding a forgettable loan spell in Qatar at the end of his playing days, 39-year-old Amorim has spent the entirety of his football career in Portugal. However, thanks to Sporting’s continental ventures under his reign, the Premier League is a division he’s previously come into contact with.

Amorim faced three Premier League clubs during his time with Sporting, here’s a rundown of his record against each ahead of his arrival on English shores.

Sporting were Primeira Liga holders entering the 2021/22 campaign and gunning for an improvement in the Champions League having last progressed into the knockout stages of the competition in 2009.

Amorim’s side advanced from a hotly-contested Group B in second place at Borussia Dortmund’s expense, but were dealt the short straw in the round of 16 as they were paired against a Manchester City side still hunting their first Champions League crown.

City beat Paris Saint-Germain and all their superstars to the top spot in Group A before ending their last 16 duel with Sporting 58 minutes into the two-legged affair. The Cityzens completely overwhelmed Amorim’s side in Lisbon, with goals from Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling, and a Bernardo Silva brace thrusting City into a 5-0 lead before the hour mark.

Sterling’s strike proved to be the last of the tie as the two sides played out a pretty dull 0-0 stalemate in Manchester three weeks later.

2022/23 was undoubtedly the most disappointing season of Amorim’s Sporting tenure. His side fell to fourth in the Primeira Liga amid a trophy-less campaign.

However, they did have some success in Europe. Sporting were placed into an even-looking Group D alongside Marseille, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Antonio Conte’s Tottenham. Their group stage started with a 3-0 win over Frankfurt in which they dominated the Bundesliga team in transition before they faced Spurs on Matchday 2.

A tactical affair between a pair of coaches who rely on build-up patterns and stringent work without the ball meant few chances arrived at either end before Sporting nicked it at the death thanks to a flicked Paulinho header from a corner. Arthur Gomes put more gloss on the Portuguese side’s triumph with a fine solo effort in stoppage time.

Sporting’s campaign peaked after two games, though, and both sides were in need of points when they met on Matchday 5 in north London. In the end, the spoils were shared after a controversial finale which saw VAR rule out Harry Kane’s likely winner for offside. Rodrigo Bentancur had headed home a second-half equaliser after former Spurs star Marcus Edwards had given Sporting the lead with a pinpoint effort from distance.

A defeat to Frankfurt in their final group game saw Sporting, thanks to Spurs’ 2-1 win over Marseille, finish third in Group D and drop into the Europa League knockout round play-offs.

Danish side Midtjylland were cast aside after an emphatic 4-0 second leg win away from home which set up a meeting with an up-and-coming Arsenal side that were then atop the 2022/23 Premier League table.

Due to their success in the league, the Gunners’ priorities lay elsewhere when they faced off with Amorim’s side, but this was a belting two-legged affair nonetheless. A back-and-forth first leg in Lisbon ended two apiece before Pedro Goncalves cancelled out Granit Xhaka’s early opener in the return leg with an outrageous effort from the halfway line.

Manuel Ugarte was particularly brilliant in midfield for Sporting as the game went to penalties, and the Portuguese side were perfect from the spot. Gabriel Martinelli’s miss allowed Nuno Santos to score the winning spot-kick for the visitors, who were then beaten by Juventus in the last eight.

Ruben Amorim’s record vs Premier League clubs

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