Newly appointed Manchester United manager Reuben Amorim has revealed that there will be consequences for a potential victory if his Sporting Lisbon side beats Premier League side Manchester City, who are arch-rivals of his new home at Old Trafford.
Amorim will join Manchester United on November 11 to replace Erik Ten Hag who was sacked recently but a clash against Manchester City in Lisbon on Tuesday in their fourth game in the UCL League phase will give him an exposure into what to expect when he steps into the Premier League.
Already Manchester City’s injury problems that saw them have just 13 players in the first team available, which also led to their 2-1 Premier League loss to Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday, have made the chances of a Sporting Lisbon win possible.
However, the Portuguese manager knows that the game will be a litmus expectation test for him, and he hasn’t been shielded from the truth.
“If the result is very negative, expectations will drop, and I don’t think that’s a bad starting point when you begin at Manchester United. If we win, they’ll think the new Alex Ferguson has arrived, which is very difficult to maintain. I’m fully aware that I’m going to be judged as a manager on this game, and only on this game, and I realize what [people] can take from this depending on the result.” Amorim said.
Manchester United have former striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy in the interim charge of the team for the last two matches which included a 5-2 victory over Leicester City in the Carabao cup and a 1-1 draw with Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday and the UEFA Europa League fixture against Greek side PAOK Saloniki on Thursday at Old Trafford.
Ruben Amorim has led Sporting to 14 wins in their past 15 games in all competitions, with their only loss coming in the Portuguese Super Cup this season.