Incoming Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim saved one of his greatest Sporting victories for his last home game to condemn Manchester City to a third successive defeat for the first time since April 2018.
It was City’s heaviest defeat since September 2020 and only the second time in his trophy-ladened spell at City that Pep Guardiola has been beaten in three consecutive games in a single season.
To cap a thoroughly depressing night for City, star striker Erling Haaland blasted a second-half penalty against the crossbar.
Sporting's own Scandanavian superstar Viktor Gyokeres - formerly of Coventry City - did much of the damage with a superb hat-trick.
The Swede drove home a 38th-minute leveller to Phil Foden’s early opener and then kept his cool after the break to beat Ederson twice from the spot.
The first of those penalties came in a disastrous start to the second half for City as they went behind seconds after the restart as Maximiliano Araujo raced onto a through ball and fired into the corner.
Sporting regulars in the media tribune said the victory was the greatest single game of Amorim’s reign, which has one more match to go, at Braga on Sunday.
The fear in this part of Lisbon must be that momentum from seven successive victories in all competitions cannot be maintained. Not that it tempered the celebrations at the final whistle.
As for Amorim, he joked on Monday that a victory might mean United fans start comparing him to Sir Alex Ferguson.
That might be a stretch. But, there could not have been a better way to shove a huge amount of credit in the bank.
Latest Stories
-
It’s simple: macho has married political greed
4 minutes -
Africa’s reparations call now a unified demand – President Mahama
15 minutes -
Government Communications Minister urges PR officers to embody efficiency and professionalism
16 minutes -
Mahama’s cost-cutting measures signal new era of fiscal discipline
38 minutes -
Today’s Front pages: Friday, July 18, 2025
38 minutes -
Battery swapping is the missing link in EV adoption – Here’s what we’ve learned
2 hours -
Defence Minister commends Ghana Armed Forces personnel during extensive Garrison visit
2 hours -
Ghana Armed Forces set to recruit 12,000 as Defence Minister pledges transparency
3 hours -
Baby stolen during Argentina’s military rule found after 48 years
3 hours -
US passes first major national crypto legislation
3 hours -
Netflix boss says AI effects used in show for first time
3 hours -
I was raised in a very politically aware family – NAPO
3 hours -
I was raised to serve – NAPO shares deep-rooted calling to public duty
4 hours -
Trump orders officials to ‘produce’ more Epstein documents after mounting pressure
4 hours -
Germany’s Merz tells BBC Europe was free-riding on US
5 hours