“FANS have all said the same thing after Sporting Lisbon finished in the Champions League top eight without Ruben Amorim or Viktor Gyokeres. The Portuguese outfit stunned Europe with a 94th-minute winner over Athletic Bilbao to qualify for the last 16. Sign up for the Arsenal newsletter Thank you! Ruben Amorim has been sacked by”, — write: www.thesun.co.uk
The Portuguese outfit stunned Europe with a 94th-minute winner over Athletic Bilbao to qualify for the last 16.
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Ruben Amorim has been sacked by Man United since his appointment from Sporting LisbonCredit: Splash
Viktor Gyokeres was signed from the Portuguese side by Arsenal last summerCredit: Alamy The victory saw them climb to 7th in the table ahead of the likes of Manchester City and Real Madrid.
While the likes of Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus will have to go through the knockout round, they have secured safe passage.
The success follows on from the high-profile exits of manager Amorim and striker Gyokeres in recent seasons.
Amorim was snapped up by Manchester United in November 2024 before Gyokeres was signed by Arsenal last summer.
The manager was ultimately a disaster at Old Trafford and was sacked earlier this month by the Red Devils.
Gyokeres has scored ten times in 29 outings but is yet to fully show the form he was capable of in Portugal.
Now, following Sporting’s stunning Champions League campaign under boss Rui Borges fans are all talking on social media.
They are claiming that the Lisbon-based side are better off for letting the seemingly key duo leave.
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One posted: “Despite Amorim and Gyokeres’s leave, Sporting finished top 8 in the UCL league phase. Impressive honestly.”
A second wrote: “Sporting is top 8 without Amorim the fraud.”
A third commented: “Hats off to Sporting! I was expecting that from Amorim’s Sporting.”
A fourth said: “This has proven that Gyokeres wasn’t the one pulling Sporting forward all these while but Sporting were actually the reason for his super performances.”
Another added: “So Sporting went from 23rd to 7th without Gyokeres.”
Arsenal will still be happy with Gyokeres’ outings in the Champions League with the striker netting five times in six games.
Sporting Lisbon finished 7th in the league phase of the Champions LeagueCredit: AFP
1 Arsenal – 24pts
2 Bayern Munich – 21pts
3 Liverpool – 18pts
4 Tottenham – 17pts
5 Barcelona – 16pts
6 Chelsea – 16pts
7 Sporting – 16pts
8 Man City – 16pts
— Next 16 teams through to play-offs —
9 Real Madrid – 15pts
10 Inter – 15pts
11 PSG – 14pts
12 Newcastle – 14pts
13 Juventus – 13pts
14 Atletico – 13pts
15 Atalanta – 13pts
16 Leverkusen – 12pts
17 Dortmund – 11pts
18 Olympiacos – 11pts
19 Club Burgge -10pts
20 Galatasaray – 10pts
21 Monacao – 10pts
22 Qarabag – 10pts
23 Bodo/Glimt – 9pts
24 Benfica – 9pts
— Bottom 12 teams eliminated —
25 Marseille – 9pts
26 Pafos – 9pts
27 Union SG – 9pts
28 PSV – 8pts
29 Athletic Bilbao- 8pts
30 Napoli – 8pts
31 Copenhagen – 8pts
32 Ajax – 6pts
33 Frankfurt – 4pts
34 – Slavia Prague – 3pts
35 Villarreal – 1pts
36 Kairat – 1pt
He netted in their final league phase match against FC Kairat, which sealed their spot at the top of the table.
United have since replaced Amorim with former player Michael Carrick on a deal until the end of the season.
The Englishman has won his first two games in charge of the Red Devils, beating both Man City and the Gunners in the Premier League.