Champions League results: Sporting Lisbon hammers Manchester City 4-1, Real Madrid loses to AC Milan
Manchester City’s week from hell has been compounded by a heavy Champions League loss to Sporting Lisbon as incoming Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim took the honours over Pep Guardiola.
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Viktor Gyokeres’s hat-trick fired Sporting Lisbon to a stunning 4-1 rout of Manchester City in the Champions League as Ruben Amorim showed why Manchester United were so keen to lure him to Old Trafford.
Sporting manager Amorim has accepted United’s offer to replace Erik ten Hag and will officially take charge of the troubled Premier League club on November 11.
Regarded as one of Europe’s brightest young managerial minds, the 39-year-old delivered a tantalising glimpse of his acumen as Sporting exposed injury-hit City’s defensive weaknesses.
Phil Foden put City ahead in the opening moments at the Jose Alvalade stadium, but the visitors wasted a string of chances to increase their lead and Sporting made them pay.
Gyokeres equalised before half-time and Maximiliano Araujo bagged Sporting’s second after the break before Gyokeres’s penalty capped their incredible fightback with two penalties.
Erling Haaland squandered a chance to give City a second half lifeline when his penalty hit the bar.
Amorim said United fans might think “the new Alex Ferguson has arrived” if his team beat City.
FULL-TIME | Defeat in Lisbon.
— Manchester City (@ManCity) November 5, 2024
🟢 4-1 🩵 #ManCity | #UCLpic.twitter.com/2qJpvXaRQ2
In and out of possession…
— Dev Bajwa (@ammandev) November 5, 2024
These Sporting Lisbon players do not stop.
Some of the lads at United are in for a rude awakening with life under Ruben Amorim.
And I’m looking forward to it. 🙌
"If I was Manchester United I'd get him to the airport as quickly as possible!" ✈ï¸ðŸ”´@Ally_McCoist9 heaps praise on Ruben Amorim and his Sporting Lisbon side 🟢#GoalsShowXtrapic.twitter.com/JY8oZ5S7MA
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 5, 2024
After the turbulent end to Ten Hag’s reign — he was sacked in October with United languishing in the bottom half of the table — Amorim clearly faces a huge task to restore the club to the glory they enjoyed in the Ferguson era.
Comparisons with United’s legendary former boss should be shelved for now, but Sporting’s spirited victory will have fans counting down the days until his arrival.
Amorim, who led Sporting to two Portuguese titles in four years, is set to take charge of his first United game at Ipswich on November 24.
Pep Guardiola will get his chance for revenge in Amorim’s first Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium on December 15.
But Guardiola has plenty to work on before then as he looks for solutions to City’s unexpected three-game losing streak.
Premier League champions City suffered a first top-flight defeat of the season against Bournemouth on Saturday, three days after losing to Tottenham in the League Cup.
Amid the absences of Rodri, Jack Grealish, Ruben Dias, John Stones and Oscar Bobb, City have lost their momentum in dramatic fashion.
Their first defeat in four games in this season’s Champions League shouldn’t be fatal to their European ambitions, but Guardiola will be desperate for a positive reaction at Brighton on Saturday.
CITY STUNNED
Sporting have 10 points from four Champions League games as Amorim leaves them in rude health.
In the last home game of Amorim’s reign, City looked like puncturing the emotional farewell when Foden struck in the fourth minute.
Sporting carelessly conceded possession to Foden, who advanced into the penalty area before drilling a low shot past Franco Israel’s weak attempted save.
But Israel redeemed himself when he repelled Haaland’s drive before the City striker’s looping header was cleared off the line by Gyokeres.
Haaland tested the over-worked Israel with a volley before Bernardo Silva fired just wide.
Guardiola’s men had kept clean-sheets in each of their first three Champions League games, but they were breached completely against the run of play in the 38th minute.
City centre-back Jahmai Simpson-Pusey was making his first start for the club and the raw 19-year-old was exposed by Gyokeres, who accelerated past him to reach Geovany Quenda’s pass and clip a predatory finish into the far corner.
Amorim’s celebration was relatively brief as he focused on issuing tactical instructions to a trio of Sporting players on the touchline.
If Amorim’s words of wisdom had identified a City weakness, he was rewarded in an astonishing start to the second half.
Just 20 seconds after the interval, Araujo surged through for a clinical finish that whistled under Ederson.
Three minutes later, City were breached again when Josko Gvardiol’s rash foul on Trincao conceded a penalty that Gyokeres slammed past Ederson.
Ousmane Diomande blocked Silva’s shot with his arm, conceding a penalty that Haaland smashed against the bar.
It was Amorim’s night and Gyokeres put the exclamation point on it in the 80th minute with an ice-cool penalty after Nunes’s foul on Geny Catamo.
GET IN 🤩🔴 #UCLpic.twitter.com/YO9YlQs5Gl
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) November 5, 2024
LIVERPOOL HANDS ALONSO HEAVY DEFEAT ON ANFIELD RETURN
Xabi Alonso endured a miserable return to Anfield as Liverpool thrashed Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 on Tuesday, thanks to a Luis Diaz hat-trick, to go top of the Champions League table.
Cody Gakpo was also on target as the Reds maintained their 100 percent record in Europe after four games.
Alonso, a Champions League winner during his playing days in the Liverpool midfield, turned his back on succeeding Jurgen Klopp to remain at Leverkusen after leading them to an unbeaten German league and cup double last season.
Liverpool, though, are not left wondering what might have been as Arne Slot continued his stunning start as manager with a 14th win in 16 games in all competitions.
Leverkusen remain on seven points from their opening four Champions League matches after another sobering night for their ambitions to match the heights they hit last season.
Alonso’s men sit fourth in the Bundesliga, seven points adrift of leaders Bayern Munich, and failed to master what Alonso described pre-match as a “beautiful challenge”.
The Spaniard cut a frustrated figure on the touchline as his side struggled to get into the slick passing rhythm they have become famed for during his tenure.
The German champions, though, created the best of what chances there were in a first half short on goalmouth action.
Jeremie Frimpong saw appeals for a penalty waved away when he went down with a clear sight of goal under a challenge from Kostas Tsimikas.
Frimpong also had the ball in the net just before the break but handled before racing through to finish.
Liverpool’s best opening of the half came seconds later when Curtis Jones’ excellent pass finally found some space for Gakpo, but his powerful effort was repelled at his near post by Lukas Hradecky.
Just like in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Brighton that took Slot’s men to the top of the Premier League, it took until the second half for both Liverpool and the Anfield crowd to come to life.
Mohamed Salah should have done better when he sliced wide after a jinking run through the Leverkusen midfield by Ryan Gravenberch.
A cagey tactical battle was sparked into life on the hour mark by a moment of stunning quality.
Jones spun his marker before splitting the Leverkusen defence with a pinpoint pass for Diaz, who nonchalantly chipped the advancing Hradecky.
Moments later, Liverpool had killed the visitors off with another flowing move. Salah’s driven cross was headed in at the back post by the flying Gakpo. The linesman raised his flag to momentarily silence the celebrations, but a VAR review showed the Dutch forward was onside for his sixth goal of the season.
Victor Boniface headed wide with a huge chance to bring Leverkusen immediately back into the game.
Instead, Liverpool pulled further clear seven minutes from time when Diaz controlled Salah’s looping cross and fired home.
The Colombian then rounded off the scoring with his ninth of the season in stoppage time with another clinical finish after Darwin Nunez’s blocked shot fell into his path.
Liverpool’s return of 12 points means they are almost certainly already assured of a place in the knockout phase, but are closing in on sealing direct progression to the last 16 via a top-eight finish in the 36-team league.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE HOLDERS CRASH TO HEAVY LOSS
Champions League holders Real Madrid fell to a 3-1 home defeat by AC Milan in the group stage with striker Kylian Mbappe unable to find the net again.
The 25-year-old France captain has scored once in his last six matches for Madrid across all competitions, including three losses for Los Blancos.
Malick Thiaw headed the Italian side ahead before Vinicius Junior levelled from the penalty spot for the hosts.
Alvaro Morata struck against his former side to restore Milan’s lead before the break and Tijjani Reijnders netted the third to secure Milan’s victory.
Madrid were unable to bounce back strongly from the 4-0 thrashing by Barcelona in late October, their last outing after Saturday’s La Liga match at Valencia was postponed because of devastating floods in the east of Spain.
Players from both sides wore t-shirts before the match reading “We are all Valencia” while in one stand a giant Valencia regional flag was unfurled for a minute’s silence.
Carlo Ancelotti, who won the Champions League twice as a player and then twice as a coach with Milan, only made one change from the Clasico humiliation, bringing in Luka Modric for Eduardo Camavinga.
Madrid may have been keen to set things right in front of their fans at the Santiago Bernabeu but fell behind in the 12th minute.
Thiaw’s near-post header from a corner flew past the helpless Andriy Lunin to earn the Serie A side the lead.
Mike Maignan saved from Mbappe at the other end as Madrid hit back, with Vinicius winning a penalty as he fell under a clumsy tackle from Emerson Royal.
The Brazilian, who finished as runner-up in last week’s Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris when he had been favourite to win, coolly dispatched it with a cheeky dinked Panenka effort.
Milan regained the lead in the 39th minute through former Madrid striker Morata, who reacted quickly to fire home after Lunin saved from Rafael Leao.
Mbappe, yet to find top form in a Madrid shirt since his move from Paris Saint-Germain and particularly frustrated in the Barcelona defeat, broke in again before half-time but Maignan saved his low effort.
Ancelotti took action at half-time, bringing on Camavinga and Brahim Diaz, and it opened up the second half for an end-to-end affair.
Lunin made a superb flying save from Leao’s header and the Portuguese forward wasted a couple of opportunities on the break.
Leao made amends by teeing up Reijnders at the end of a superb solo run to turn home for Milan’s third after 73 minutes.
Antonio Rudiger smashed home for Madrid after a poor Maignan punch but the goal was disallowed for a tight offside against the defender.
Maignan made a fine late save to deny Diaz and it killed any Madrid hopes of a comeback, like in their previous Champions League outing against Borussia Dortmund.
Madrid have now lost two of their four matches and are in the middle of the table, provisionally 17th, one place above Milan.
CELTIC RALLIES TO CLINCH WIN OVER LEIPZIG
Nicolas-Gerrit Kuhn scored twice as Celtic came from behind to beat RB Leipzig 3-1 on Tuesday and leave the German club still without a point in the Champions League.
The visitors opened the scoring in the 23rd minute through Christoph Baumgartner, but Kuhn curled home a fine equaliser for Celtic before netting again before half-time.
Reo Hatate gave Celtic some breathing space as Brendan Rodgers’ side moved onto seven points after four games, boosting their hopes of reaching the knock-out phase for the first time since 2013.
Leipzig, who suffered their first Bundesliga defeat of the season at Borussia Dortmund at the weekend, are one of six teams still yet to get off the mark in the Champions League this season.
Leipzig struck first for the third time in the competition as Baumgartner stooped to nod home after Kevin Kampl’s corner was inadvertently flicked on by Celtic defender Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Willi Orban almost doubled Leipzig’s lead shortly afterwards, heading another dangerous set-piece narrowly wide.
But Celtic hit back 10 minutes before half-time as Kuhn jinked inside and bent a wonderful strike in off the far post.
Kuhn almost turned creator a few minutes later, playing a magnificent through ball with the outside of his right boot to Daizen Maeda, but the Japanese forward could only blast over with just Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi to beat.
The German completed the first-half turnaround himself in the first minute of added time, firing home Greg Taylor’s cutback after Maeda completely missed the ball with his attempted shot.
Both sides went close early in the second half, with home ‘keeper Kasper Schmeichel denying Benjamin Sesko an equaliser and Gulacsi keeping out Hatate’s low strike.
But Hatate did give Celtic a two-goal cushion with 18 minutes remaining, turning the ball home after Gulacsi inexplicably spilled Alistair Johnston’s tame cross.
The Scottish champions passed up further opportunities to score late on, but were able to celebrate a crucial victory.
Originally published as Champions League results: Sporting Lisbon hammers Manchester City 4-1, Real Madrid loses to AC Milan
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