Ederson remained ice-cold and easily picked up the ball. Gyökeres' miss hurt extra, coming just a few minutes after Phil Foden's 1-0 goal for City.
A gross mistake by Japanese player Hidemasa Morita opened up City's lead goal just four minutes in. City dominated noticeably and had several opportunities to increase their lead with one or two goals.
Then, in the midst of the onslaught, came the counterattack – and this time Gyökeres didn't miss. 1-1, the third CL goal of the season and the 21st overall in competitive matches for Sporting this fall.
Powerful turnaround
That's where the turnaround began, the powerful one.
30 seconds into the second half, Maximiliano Araujo scored 2-1, and just a minute later, Gyökeres scored 3-1 on a penalty, his 22nd goal since the start of the season in August.
Erling Braut Haaland missed a penalty for City, whereupon Sporting got another one. This time, Gyökeres thundered the ball into the other corner.
We didn't start well, but we knew they would offer openings, and they did. We could have scored more than four goals, says Gyökeres to Viaplay.
Just days after scoring four goals in the league against Esterela, Gyökeres delivered a hat-trick, his third of the season.
The national team star has a longer contract with Sporting, but his constant goal production makes him a coveted target for several of Europe's top clubs. Many of them will likely make a move for the Swede during the winter transfer window.
The three goals against City will echo through the football world and elevate the 26-year-old to a new, higher status level.
I always try to do my best, but it's clear that you have to raise your game against better teams. I'll keep doing what I'm good at, and it worked pretty well today.
Perfect farewell
Coach Rúben Amorim got the perfect farewell performance at Estádio José Alvalade. The Sporting coach takes over at Manchester United from November 11. His very last task in Sporting will be this weekend's Portuguese league match away against Braga.
We will naturally miss him a lot. We've accomplished incredible things together. But we must look forward, says Gyökeres.
Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City are experiencing an unusually dark period. Tonight's loss was their third in a row within a week.
