Sporting Lisbon manager Ruben Amorim is not expecting Manchester City to take their foot off the pedal when the two sides meet in the second-leg of their Champions League last-16 game at the Etihad tonight (Wednesday).
City, who restored their six-point lead at the top of the Premier League table with a 4-1 win over neighbours Manchester United on Sunday, already have one foot in the quarter-finals after winning the first-leg 5-0 in Portugal last month. Goals from Bernardo Silva (2), Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling sealed an emphatic victory for Pep Guardiola's men, who already have a foot in the last eight alongside Bayern Munich and Liverpool.
Considering they take a healthy-sized lead into this evening's second-leg, Guardiola could be forgiven for making wholesale changes and not going at Sporting at full throttle. However, Sporting chief Amorim is anticipating another stern test from a strong City line-up.
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"Looking at the players they have available, it is not easy at all," said Amorim. "They have a small squad, but one with great quality, with a lot of skill and that have had a lot of time to workshop."
City blew Sporting away in the first-leg and were out of sight before the half-time interval. They led 4-0 at the break and the game was won.
Bernardo thought he had added a fifth to complete his hat-trick shortly after the break, but he was flagged offside. Sterling, though, did wrap up the tie once and for all, bending home from range to complete the rout.
Explaining what his side have got to do better in the second-leg, Amorim, who has been in charge of the Portuguese giants since March 2020, added: "We started the last match well and we managed to have the ball, despite the goal that we conceded.
"It would be beneficial for us to be able to press better — which is very difficult against Manchester City — and to have more of the ball.
"At Alvalade it was atypical, because when you are at a disadvantage it is very difficult to chase the ball. There are many challenges.
"We have to improve with and without the ball and manage the result better, which stimulates the players more during the game itself."
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