Amorim readies for repair work at United

The last time Manchester City lost thrice in succession, the Champions League didn't know Erling Haaland, MS Dhoni was calibrating successfully, mostly - India's chase in white-ball cricket, Elon Musk was far from having an outsize influence on US presidential elections and because he didn't own Twitter, it wasn't called X. The last time City lost by three goals was more recent and that was over four years ago.

- Dhiman Sarkar

Which shows why Rúben Amorim, responsible for the coming together of these unusual events, was someone Manchester United coveted. Two league titles, the first ending a 19-year wait, with the promise of retaining it going into the season - something Sporting CP hadn't been able to since 1954 - his preferred 3-4-3 system helping a team improve for four straight years, Amorim had quite the reputation as coach. One he significantly enhanced after beating City 4-1 on Tuesday.

Amorim was quick to say that the result meant nothing, that it was a one-off. And you need to look no further than Andre Villas-Boas or even Erik ten Hag to realise that promise doesn't always match performance. But before his final home match, the 39-year-old had also said he could be called the "new Ferguson" should Sporting win. Five years younger than Alex Ferguson was when the Scot was handed a club listing this perilously, Amorim's statement will now be embraced even more tightly by supporters of a club not good enough to be part of European elite.