RUBEN AMORIM would have preferred to leave Lisbon in a blaze of glory after winning a third Primeira Liga title.

But football doesn’t work that way. And in what was sure to be his last game before taking over at Manchester United, Amorim prepared to say goodbye to a half-empty Estadio Jose Alvalade in a League Cup quarter-final against Nacional.

Sporting won 3-1 thanks to second-half goals from captain Morten Hjulmand and Viktor Gyokeres, who scored twice.

Luis Esteves retired for Madeira-based Nacional.

The stadium will be much livelier on Tuesday when Manchester City are here for a Champions League game – although Amorim should have his feet firmly under his desk at Old Trafford by then.

Liverpool and Aston Villa were both interested in Europe’s most sought-after manager. Even City could have been a possible destination after Pep Guardiola.

Still, the United job is something Amorim, 39, couldn’t turn down – although not everyone saw it that way at Sporting last night.

There is clearly a huge divide in the Portuguese club’s fan base over their coach leaving at this stage of the season and many feel he should have seen the job through.

Still, Amorim, along with the three-man coaching staff expected to follow him, leaves a club in far better shape than when he arrived in 2020.

Inside the stadium, there was applause – albeit muted – when his name was read out before the game along with the lineups.

And there seemed to be no taunts as Amorim awkwardly shuffled out of the tunnel towards the hole.

So while his departure is hard to take for some, none of the fans will forget his legacy.

This is a club that is back as the dominant force in Portugal. Also this term, Sporting have won their first nine league games, scored 30 goals and conceded just two.

They are also eighth in the Champions League table, which is one heck of an effort.

However, Lisbon didn’t exactly suffer from League Cup fever last night.

Amorim made many changes, which saw Sporting star man Gyokeres, the former Coventry striker, start on the bench.

However, it was a first appearance in six weeks for former Tottenham winger Marcus Edwards.

He is truly a player who has been transformed by Amorim since joining the club from Vitoria in 2022 and will be sad to see the coach leave.

While switching teams, Amorim stuck with his tried and trusted formation of a back three.

It will certainly be something Manchester United fans will have to get used to over the coming months.

But looking at the Premier League table, none of them will complain about the change.