Ruben Amorim joked that Manchester United fans might think he was the next Sir Alex Ferguson if Sporting produced an unlikely victory over rivals Manchester City. After a comeback like that, those comparisons may become irresistible.
Such was the excitement after Sporting’s 4-1 Champions League win over the Premier League champions, that it was hard even for the Man Utd social media team to contain it, as evidenced by a timely repost of the club’s announcement of their new head coach.
Amorim feared that such an eventuality might make life difficult for him when he arrives at Old Trafford, a place that has become a graveyard for managers since Ferguson retired in 2013. The new arrival doesn’t want a false dawn before he’s even started.
He sought to play the result down after the game: “It’s misleading, we were very lucky today, but the feeling with my players, the way they celebrate with the fans was very special.
“I take this with me but when I arrive to the Premier League it is a different world, different pressure.”
Here, we take a look at what we learned about Amorim on Tuesday and what it might mean for United…
An inspiring team talk?
If we focus on what went well for Sporting on Tuesday night, then one major reason for optimism among United fans was the second-half response from the Portuguese champions, who had looked remarkably like Erik ten Hag’s side from earlier in the season for large spells of the first half – even if they did go in level at 1-1.
Sporting initially appeared shellshocked by the occasion of their departing head coach’s final home game and the pressure under the spotlight of interested fans in England watching on, expecting big things. They needed something to help them rediscover their confidence.
This was a big problem for Ten Hag at United. The team were so often slow starters under his reign, conceding four goals in the first five minutes of a half of football this season alone.
Amorim, on this evidence a far more accomplished communicator, was able not only to calm down his side and restore order but inspire them to a flying restart which caught City off guard.
Maximiliano Araujo’s goal, which gave Sporting a 2-1 lead, came within 20 seconds of the restart and Viktor Gyokeres’ first penalty of the night followed just four minutes later. That swift response turned the game on its head.
United are calling out for some leadership, and while it is sorely needed on the pitch, the arrival of a coach that can inspire renewed confidence in his players surely comes as a positive.
Back three or a back five?
Amorim likes to play with a back three, but for much of the game against City the hosts were shaping up with five at the back.
This game was always going to be different to most matches Sporting play as champions in Portugal. So used to dominating, they had to adjust for Guardiola and City, masters of keeping the ball.
Due to the limitations of the squad Amorim will inherit at United, this is likely to be a good insight into how he may have to begin his tenure in Premier League as he implements his system in a team used to playing with a back four.
In the early stages of his United career, especially in bigger games, do not be surprised to see Amorim settle for ceding possession and playing on the counter.
Against City, Sporting were limited to less than 30 per cent possession and won the penalty for their third goal on the back of a quick transition.
This feels like the way Amorim might approach things at Old Trafford.
Is Hojlund up to playing the Gyokeres role?
Rasmus Hojlund, 21, has been the subject of a lot of criticism at United since signing from Atalanta for £72m last summer and – perhaps unfairly at times – for failing to meet the lofty expectations put on him at such a young age.
On the evidence of Sporting’s game against City, Amorim’s system demands a lot of the striker, raising concerns about how Hojlund will cope in the short-term.
Gyokeres, one of the most in-form strikers in Europe, with 23 goals in 17 appearances in all competitions after his hat-trick, was often isolated because of Sporting being penned in. He had to work hard to keep the City defenders occupied when his team was up against it.
Hojlund has shown flashes of a striker that can fulfil such a role – you only need to look back to his stunning individual run against Galatasaray in the Champions League last season to see that – but it will need a marked improvement to live up to Gyokeres.
Beyond the hard work required, Hojlund will inevitably face speculation about the Swede being signed to replace him and will need to show similar nerve to the Sporting striker, who missed a golden chance against City yet still ended the night with the match ball.
Importance of wing-backs
When Jamie Carragher ran through what he thought Amorim’s United side might look like on Monday Night Footballthe big point of deliberation was who would play wing-back.
Seeing the workload on those roles in Sporting’s side against Man City, this is likely to be one of the first areas of the squad Amorim addresses when he gets the chance to make signings.
When City were on top they kept finding joy down the wings, particularly Savinho, as he exploited the space in between Araujo, the left-wing-back, and Matheus Reis, the left centre-back.
Finding those spaces out wide is one of the first things opponents tend to do against a back five, with the wing-back and centre-back often struggling to identify who should pick up the winger.
But once the team had become more settled the benefit of these players became clear. Just as they can struggle to identify who they should mark, the opposing team struggled to pick them up because of the positions they occupied.
For Sporting’s opener, 17-year-old Geovany Quenda, the right wing-back, came inside, while Trincao, one of the No 10s operating in the 3-4-2-1 formation pulled out wide, creating more space for the teenager, who played in Gyokeres for the equaliser against the run of play.
And then for the second goal, left wing-back Araujo made a darting, underlapping run that no one from City was able to pick up and fired Sporting into the lead after a lovely through ball from Pedro Goncalves.
It seems that the wing-backs are among the most important players in an Amorim team – and United would not appear to have many obvious candidates for the role in their current squad.
