Rio Ferdinand has joked Pep Guardiola will be ‘scared’ after his Man City side suffered a 4-1 loss to incoming Man United boss Ruben Amorim in the Champions League.
Amorim was the focus of attention on Tuesday night as he took charge of his final Sporting Lisbon home match before joining Man United.
The 39-year-old enjoyed a perfect farewell as his side fought back from 1-0 down to earn a stunning victory over Man City.
In-form striker Viktor Gyokeres scored a hat-trick for the hosts, with Maximiliano Araujo also on target.
The result was Man City’s heaviest defeat since September 2020 and consigned Guardiola’s side to a third consecutive loss in all competitions.
Ruben Amorim led Sporting Lisbon to a 4-1 win over Pep Guardiola’s Man City on Tuesday
The Portuguese giants gave Amorim a perfect home send ahead of his move to Man United
Former Man United defender Rio Ferdinand joked Guardiola will be ‘scared’ after the match
Former Man United star Ferdinand, speaking on TNT Sports, claimed the current Red Devils’ squad would be enthused by Amorim’s arrival after watching the Champions League match.
Ferdinand then joked Guardiola would be afraid of Amorim’s move to Man United, where he starts work on November 11, but conceded it would take time to turn around their fortunes.
‘I was excited by the change in dynamics of his team in the second half, how aggressive and dynamic there were, they showed fight and resilience,’ Ferdinand said on TNT Sports.
‘They are important elements you want him to bring, we are lacking that at Man United so I am really excited.
‘I’d like to be in the WhatsApp group of the current [Man United] team, if they didn’t watch that they are lunatics.
‘The conversations between those guys now, wow. I am sitting there as a player asking why he isn’t coming in tomorrow. I want him now.
‘I don’t want to get carried away but I want some good times back. It’s been far too negative and depressing in recent years.
‘You want a bit of sunshine and hopefully that man can bring that. But it’s going to take some time it is not an overnight job, but Pep will be scared.’
Sporting players threw Amorim into the air post-match on his final home appearance as boss
Amorim will manage one more Sporting match before joining Man United on November 11
Amorim had braced himself for the potential reaction to the Champions League result pre-match.
The 39-year-old had joked fans would think ‘the new Alex Ferguson has arrived’ if Sporting triumphed.
Amorim will now take charge of Sporting’s next match against Braga before joining Man United during the international break.
The Red Devils currently lie 13th in the Premier League after earning 12 points from their opening 10 matches.
