RUBEN AMORIM gave Manchester United fans a tantalising glimpse into the future as his Sporting side thrashed City 4-1 in the Champions League.
The occasion began in a raucous atmosphere, with Sporting fans waving goodbye to their beloved Man Utd-bound manager in what was his final home game in charge.
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The home faithful unfurled a huge banner reading “Obrigado” – Portuguese for “thank you” – ahead of kick-off.
And after tonight’s performance, it’s easy to see how Amorim left such a mark.
Sporting actually got off to a ropey start, with Phil Foden giving City a fourth-minute lead.
The side Amorim has built in Lisbon is resilient, however, and after weathering City’s storm they came roaring back to win 4-1.
Viktor Gyokeres grabbed the headlines by scoring a stunning hat-trick – taking his season tally to an astonishing 23 goals in just 17 games.
The Swede’s numbers would make United’s current forwards Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund blush.
But how has Amorim given the former Brighton and Coventry star such a platform on which to shine?
The 39-year-old has generally favoured a 3-4-3 formation with Sporting, although tonight’s average positions show that his system turned into more of a 3-5-2, or even 3-4-1-1 – with Francisco Trincao, formerly of Wolves and Barcelona, playing off Gyokeres.
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How Amorim will be able to introduce his three-at-the-back system into the Premier League will be fascinating.
After Antonio Conte‘s Chelsea won the Premier League in swashbuckling style using a back three in 2017, the system suddenly became all the rage.
Even Arsene Wenger, after more than 20 years of deploying a back four at Arsenal, dabbled with it during his final season at the Emirates.
These days, however, back threes have become more scarce.
In fact, none of last season’s top 13 used it as their primary formation.
Despite Sporting’s left wing-back Maxi Araujo grabbing a goal on the night, it was actually right wing-back Geovany Quenda who consistently got further forward.
TEENAGE SENSATION
The Guinea-Bissau-born wonderkid is just 17-years-old but has already made himself a regular in Sporting’s first team.
As a left-footer playing on the right, Quenda cut inside to great effect as he created Sporting’s equaliser.
His brilliant through-ball found Gyokeres who, having fluffed an earlier one-on-one, made no mistake when through on Ederson‘s goal for a second time.
This sort of chance was typical of the service Gyokeres received all night, with Sporting consistently forcing turnovers with their solid base.
BUILDING A PLATFORM
Irrespective of conceding a harsh penalty in the second-half, which Erling Haaland went on to miss anyway, 20-year-old centre-back Ousmane Diomande was impressive at the heart of Sporting’s defence.
While midfielders Hidemasa Morita and Morten Hjulmand offered excellent protection and were rarely far from the scene when Sporting’s back line needed help.
As soon as Sporting won the ball back, Gyokeres would be sent on his way.
It was Araujo’s turn to cause havoc from the left wing-back position right at the start of the second period, the Uruguayan converting beyond Ederson after a brilliant run by Pedro Goncalves.
Gyokeres then showed coolness to convert two penalties and complete his hat-trick.
Amorim will have another crack at Pep Guardiola in April, as United host City at Old Trafford in the Portuguese’s first Manchester derby.
When he begins work at Carrington on Monday, United’s new boss will seek to begin developing a Red Devils team that can emulate what Sporting did to City tonight.
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