Ruben Amorim has suffered two defeats at Manchester United in the last week, but spare a thought for his former club Sporting and their current struggles.
Manchester United opened the Ruben Amorim era with a draw and two victories, handing the new boss an encouraging start to life at Old Trafford.
The last week has been something of a reality check though with United losing 2-0 at Arsenal before a 3-2 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest.
United will have to go through some pain in order to progress under Amorim and this is certainly a long-term project.
Amorim will be under no illusions about that, but his departure has left former club Sporting in an absolute nightmare situation.
Portuguese football expert on latest Sporting defeat
Sporting lost Amorim to United in November and the Portuguese side turned to B team manager Joao Pereira as his replacement.
A 6-0 win over Amarante was a strong start but Sporting have suffered major problems ever since.
Sporting lost 5-0 to Arsenal in the Champions League before then losing to Santa Clara and Moreirense in domestic action.
Pereira is already under pressure at Sporting and really needed a win over Club Brugge on Tuesday night to get back on track.
That didn’t happen though as Sporting were beaten 2-1 in Belgium despite taking a third-minute lead.
Portuguese football expert Tom Kundert has taken to social media to offer his verdict on Sporting’s struggles since Amorin’s exit.
Kundert noted that Sporting look ‘unrecognisable’ from the winning machine Amorim had created.
It’s important to remember that Sporting had won 11 from 11 in the league this season whereas Pereira has lost both of his league games as well as losing twice in the Champions League after Amorim beat Manchester City.
Kundert added that Sporting are enduring an ‘incredible collapse’ and feels that the decision to appoint Pereira has become a blatant mistake for Sporting.
Sporting hit 12-year low after Ruben Amorim exit
The Portuguese media have unsurprisingly slammed Sporting too as they racked up a fourth straight defeat.
O Jogo have highlighted that this is the first time Sporting have lost four games in a row in 12 years.
Sporting went through this run in the 2012-13 season and certainly won’t have expected the form to nosedive this badly after Amorim’s exit.
Pereira is in his first senior managerial role but Sporting may be forced to make a difficult decision very soon if Sporting don’t turn the corner.
Sporting and Pereira take on Boavista this weekend and simply have to win to get their season back on track.
Amorim clearly had the magic tough at Sporting and the hope is that he can eventually turn United into a force – just as he did with Sporting.
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