Ruben Amorim's Sporting defeated Manchester City 4-1 in his final home game in charge, and the manager believes it was destiny.
The victory was extra significant, considering his move to Manchester United puts him in direct rivalry with City.
"It was written it had to be like this," said an elated Amorim after handing City their third defeat in a week and their heaviest defeat since September 2020.
Pep Guardiola had no answer to Sporting's rapid counterattacks as the Portuguese champions sliced through their defense time and again.
Viktor Gyökeres scored a hat-trick, including two penalties, on a night that meant so much to everyone connected with Sporting.
Ahead of his move to the Premier League, Amorim acknowledged the difference between his current and future roles.
"At Manchester United, you cannot play exactly like this. You cannot play so defensively, and so there we will have to adapt."
"It will be a completely different world, a different team, we won't have that much time to train, and we will begin from a different starting point."
Amorim will take charge of Sporting for one last game, against Braga at the weekend, before leaving to begin his new adventure.
His first match in charge of Manchester United is against Ipswich on November 24.