Ruben Amorim won over the hearts of Manchester United supporters even before his arrival at Old Trafford by orchestrating an impressive 4-1 victory over Manchester City with Sporting Lisbon.
The Portuguese manager was overseeing his final home game as Sporting's boss before officially taking charge as United's head coach. He witnessed his team come from behind to defeat City in the Champions League.
City took an early lead courtesy of Phil Foden, but Sporting responded with a hat-trick, including two penalties converted by Viktor Gyokeres – who is rumored to be joining Amorim at United – and a goal from Maximiliano Araujo.
This marked the first time City suffered three consecutive losses since 2018, excluding a later run in 2021 that included the Community Shield.
The evening began with Sporting honoring Amorim for his successful four-year tenure, during which he secured two domestic titles.
By the end of the match, Sporting was celebrating again after overcoming a slow start that could have seen City seal the victory early on.
City had triumphed 5-0 in their previous visit to the Jose Alvalade Stadium and seemed poised for a similar outcome as they opened the scoring in the fourth minute.
Despite City's control, they were vulnerable to counterattacks.
Sporting capitalized on City's profligacy by equalizing before halftime and then swiftly taking the lead at the start of the second half.
The hosts extended their advantage by converting a penalty shortly after the restart, putting the game beyond City's reach.
City were presented with a chance to bounce back after being awarded a contentious penalty through the VAR system, but Erling Haaland failed to convert as his shot hit the crossbar.
In the closing stages of the match, Sporting secured their victory with another penalty kick converted by Gyokeres, allowing Amorim to bid farewell to the home supporters on a high note.