Amorim's 'Special Touch' as Sporting Thrash Man City

Manchester City suffered their heaviest defeat since September 2020, and it marked only the second time in Pep Guardiola’s illustrious tenure that his team has lost three consecutive matches in a single season. To make matters worse for City, star striker Erling Haaland missed a second-half penalty, blasting it against the crossbar.

Sporting's Scandinavian sensation, Viktor Gyokeres—formerly of Coventry City—was the standout performer, scoring a brilliant hat-trick. The Swede equalized in the 38th minute with a clinical finish after Phil Foden had given City the lead early on. After the break, Gyokeres stayed composed to convert two penalties past Ederson.

City's disastrous second-half start saw them fall behind when Maximiliano Araujo capitalized on a through ball and fired into the corner. The early strike compounded the struggles for Guardiola's side, who were already reeling from a difficult first half.

Sporting fans hailed the victory as one of the best under Ruben Amorim’s reign, with many calling it his most significant performance at home. "It was clearly a landmark moment," said Amorim. "The result and the way it ended with the fans was special. Everyone deserved this."

While there is concern that Sporting might struggle to maintain their momentum after seven straight victories across all competitions, it did little to dampen the celebrations at the final whistle. Amorim joked on Monday that such a victory might lead Manchester United fans to start comparing him to Sir Alex Ferguson.

While that may be a stretch, there’s no doubt that this emphatic victory has earned Amorim substantial credit as he heads toward his new challenge.

City's struggles get worse with third straight loss

While much of the focus leading up to the game was on Amorim and his imminent departure, the aftermath will undoubtedly revolve around Guardiola and his struggling Manchester City team.

City's injury crisis forced Guardiola to hand Jahmai Simpson-Pusey his first senior start in central defense, just days after his debut appearance. At only 19 years old, Simpson-Pusey was thrown into the deep end and was ruthlessly tested by Viktor Gyokeres, who made the most of the inexperienced defender’s lack of senior experience.

Guardiola must have been worried when Manuel Akanji went down with what appeared to be a head injury in the second half, but the Swiss defender recovered and continued playing.

The City manager had already predicted a difficult season, and his fears are beginning to unfold. To recover from this slump, Guardiola needs his senior players to step up. Foden did so initially, scoring his fourth goal of the season to put City ahead, but the team failed to capitalize on early chances to extend their lead. They were swiftly undone by two goals in four minutes at the start of the second half.

Typically, a response would be expected after such setbacks, and Haaland's missed penalty could have been the turning point. The Norwegian has now failed to score in four of his last six matches.

It’s not just the team as a whole that is struggling—key individual players are also underperforming.

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