Manchester derby shaped by two Sporting encounters

Pep Guardiola is on to the fifth Manchester United manager of his reign at Manchester City.

- RICHARD JOLLY

Under normal circumstances, that would illustrate the difficulty of coaching in the same city and competing with him. After all, City had 14 managers and four caretakers during Sir Alex Ferguson's epic reign at Old Trafford.

Now, Ruben Amorim makes it five United managers plus two caretakers, Michael Carrick and Ruud van Nistelrooy, since Guardiola arrived in 2016. As his new contract lasts until 2027, there is time for another.

And yet, Amorim's Manchester derby debut offers him the chance to complete a rare feat. On the worst run of his managerial career, Guardiola has already lost twice within a few weeks to Ange Postecoglou. Amorim has the opportunity to emulate him but to do a double with different clubs. His penultimate game with Sporting CP was a 4-1 triumph that took the Portuguese club to second in the Champions League standings.

"I would like to play the game like we played in Lisbon on Sunday, believe me," said Guardiola. And if he can be a contrarian, it was a reference to City's dominance for much of the first half, when they should have extended their lead, before Sporting's four-goal comeback. There was a reminder that it may be too soon to say United's new manager has got his number.

"Two seasons ago, we won 5-0," he recalled. "Maybe [they learn] the lesson better because they beat us 4-1." That 5-0 rout in February 2022 has a different pertinence now. It led Guardiola, no stranger to exaggeration, to brand Matheus Nunes "one of the best players in the world today".