Ruben Amorim: Manchester United cannot play as defensively as Sporting Lisbon

Ruben Amorim says Manchester United will not be able to play the same way as his Sporting Lisbon team following their victory over Manchester City.

Speaking after Sporting’s 4-1 Champions League win against Pep Guardiola’s side on Tuesday, the 39-year-old head coach said United — who he will officially join on November 11 — will not be able to play as defensively and “will have to adapt”.

In Amorim’s final home match in charge of Sporting, Phil Foden gave City an early lead before a Viktor Gyokeres hat-trick and Maximiliano Araujo goal inflicted the first Champions League defeat of the season on the Premier League champions.

“This does not mean anything specifically and it is misleading,” Amorim said ahead of his new job. “We will not be able to transport one reality to another.”

Amorim continued: “United cannot play the way we play, they cannot be so defensive. We will have to adapt. Of course it’s good to beat City. But I’ll be living in a different world in Manchester, we’ll have to start from a different point.

“This was a one-off and we had luck on our side. I will take this to the Premier League, but it will be different in Manchester. It will be fun and I am ready for the challenge.”

Amorim also said he would “respect” the future of striker Gyokeres, whose treble against City took him to 66 goals in 67 appearances for Sporting since joining from Coventry City in 2023.

“If I start joking about this Gyokeres situation I’ll get in trouble,” Amorim told TNT Sports. “This is my city, this is my country, so I’ll respect it.

“Viktor has to stay until the end of the season and then his life will probably go somewhere else.”

Amorim’s final match in charge of Sporting is a league match away to Braga on Sunday and his first match in charge of United will be on November 24 away to Ipswich Town in the Premier League.

Ruud van Nistelrooy, United’s interim coach, will oversee the club’s Europa League fixture against PAOK Salonika on Thursday and Premier League match at home to Leicester City three days later.

(Zed Jameson/PA Images via Getty Images)