Manchester United, who face PAOK in the Europa League on Thursday, wasted little time with a reminder that Amorim starts work at Old Trafford next week they retweeted their announcement of his appointment just after the final whistle at Estadio Jose Alvalade.

Amorim's team played thrilling football to defeat Pep Guardiola, who he regards as the greatest coach in the world.

These are the five principles that underpinned his success against City and why it should excite United fans ahead of his arrival in Manchester.

Sit back and pounce

Guardiola was asked about Sporting's attacking after the defeat and took exception to the view they were relentlessly going forward. They countered, having allowed City to dominate possession with a 72.7 per cent share of the ball. What they did was break swiftly. Viktor Gyokeres' first goal saw them go from front to back in seconds.

"In transitions they were really strong," said Guardiola. "They sat back [at 3-1] but they run a lot in transitions. When we lose the ball in transitions, they can do it. After, we can analyse the reasons why we have been doing that but we did incredible build-up."

Three centre-back system

Some young managers are tactically flexible, tweaking formations according to opponents or trends but Amorim is wedded to his three centre-backs. Some clubs have looked at him in the past and wondered if such a system would suit their squad.

Sporting played out from the back and in the first half against City ran into trouble often. The opening goal came from trying to carry the ball forward from the backline. Hidemasa Morita, Amorim's defensive midfielder, dropped deep and was blindsided by Phil Foden.

Portugal centre-back Goncalo Inacio has been the cornerstone of Amorim's defence and is among the players it is said the new manager would love to have with him at United in an ideal world.

Use of his striker

There was no hint of a "false nine" when Sporting lined up. Gyokeres led the attack and sat on the shoulder of the last defender. It was as worrying for City as it was exciting for United fans to see Amorim's striker get behind Guardiola's backline so many times.

Gyokeres has a EUR100 million (PS83 million) release clause, allowing clubs to move for him for a set fee. But according to sources Sporting would likely accept a lower offer of around EUR75 million to EUR85 million (PS63 million to PS71 million) to land the former Coventry City striker. Amorim has got the best out of him and if bidding starts from Premier League clubs it will be inevitable that United will be linked with him.

"I've just made peace with the Sporting fans so I'm not even going to make a joke about it," Amorim said when asked about the possibility of taking Gyokeres with him to Old Trafford.

"Gyokeres is a Sporting player, which is a great club, he did a lot for the club, he was in the second division [of English football].

"He just has to stay and finish the season at the club."

In the meantime, Amorim will try to unlock the potential of Rasmus Hojlund, who can occupy the No.9 role. He has shown glimpses of his talent so far and is now with a coach who has a track record of improving strikers.

Wing-back intelligence

Of all the talent Amorim has brought through at Sporting, Geovany Quenda is the one most are excited about. At 17, he looked beyond his years against City and produced an excellent assist for Gyokeres' first goal. Portuguese sources say United have been tracking Quenda and Amorim would love to work with him again.

Quenda's assist came from the right flank, while Maximiliano Araujo scored 22 seconds into the second half from the other wing, tucking inside and attacking City at an angle that had them on the back foot.

Engine room

Morten Hjulmand, Sporting's captain against City, has dramatically improved under Amorim which was felt by England in the summer when he scored a spectacular equaliser at Euro 2024. The Denmark international says Amorim is specific with his instructions. He and Morita drove their team-mates forward and allowed more attacking players licence to express themselves.

"Ruben was one of the reasons why I came to Sporting," Hjulmand said. "When you get the clear picture of the way he sees football and the way he wants you in the team, that is very important for a player. The way he manages outside and inside the pitch is not like anything I've seen before in my career. Manchester are in good hands."

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