Marco Borriello in Inter Milan link

Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has died at the age of 76 after being diagnosed with cancer.

Eriksson, who led England between 2001 and 2006, announced in January he had best case, a year to live after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

The Swede was subsequently the subject of an Amazon Prime documentary, in which he delivered an emotional farewell message to fans.

I hope you will remember me as a positive guy, trying to do everything he could do, Eriksson said in the documentary.

Don t be sorry, smile. Thank you for everything, coaches, players, the crowds. It s been fantastic. Take care of yourself and take care of your life, and live it.

A widely reported statement released by Eriksson s family on Monday read: After a long …

And Comolli, who worked at Tottenham and Liverpool as sporting director, believes all their success comes from their use and understanding of the data.

“Our whole football operation is driven by data, whether it his how we recruit a coach or sign a player, the way we play, the way we attack, the way we defend, from where we shoot, from where we cross, where we press,” Comolli said at Web Summit in Lisbon.

“We try to optimise the wage bill and transfer budget using data. Data is part of our culture.

“Where we gain a competitive advantage is we have decided to stick by data compared to the football wisdom. We are very disciplined at it.

“At the moment we are struggling in the league, doing well in Europe. But with underlying data, we don’t look …

Manchester City started the defence of their Premier League title with a resounding 5-0 win over West Ham.

Raheem Sterling was in sparkling form, plundering a hat-trick, with Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero also on target in a game that suggests the rest of the league will have their work cut out stopping Pep Guardiola s side marching to a third consecutive title.

Liverpool, who pushed City so close last season, also picked up where they left off, scoring four first-half goals to defeat promoted Norwich City 4-1 at Anfield.

Marcus Rashford scored twice as Manchester United thumped Chelsea 4-0 at Old Trafford, while Harry Kane was at his ruthless best as Tottenham came from behind to see off Aston Villa 3-1.

STERLING TREBLE SETS CITY ON THEIR …

Verdict: Away win

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After losing the Europa League (UEFA Cup) finals in 1999 and 2004, Marseille will be hoping it will be third time lucky as they battle Atletico Madrid for the coveted trophy and a chance to secure Champions League qualification. Los Colchoneros already have 2010 and 2012 EL titles to their name and they have been made odds on favourites to make it three this Wednesday at Parc OL in Lyon.

Marseille

Olympique Marseille were regarded as one of Europe’s top sides not so long ago, and they managed to lift the UEFA Champions League title in 1993, two years after losing the European Champions Cup final to Serbian side Crvena Zvezda. However, l’OM have since struggled to return to old glory days and the 2009/2010 Li…

Following almost two years away at Roma, revered sporting director Monchi makes his return to Sevilla on Monday having previously played an inspirational role in transforming the club.

After retiring as Sevilla goalkeeper in 1999, the next year he was hired as the club s new sporting director following relegation to the second tier.

Little did the Sevilla hierarchy at the time know what Monchi s work would go on to achieve, as they swiftly won promotion back to LaLiga and embarked on the most successful period in the club s history.

During Monchi s 17 years in charge, Sevilla won the second division, five Europa League/UEFA Cup titles, the Spanish Supercopa, UEFA Super Cup and two Copa del Rey crowns.

Key to Sevilla s success was Monchi s knack of signing…

Andy Robertson bemoaned Liverpool s capitulation in their 3-1 loss at Leicester City and acknowledged his side cannot let their alarming slide continue any longer.

The reigning Premier League champions conceded three times in the space of seven minutes late on in Saturday s clash at the King Power Stadium after Mohamed Salah had opened the scoring.

James Maddison equalised for Leicester with a free-kick and Jamie Vardy profited from Alisson s latest howler to put Leicester in front before Harvey Barnes added a third.

Liverpool s third Premier League loss in a row – the first time that has happened since November 2014 under Brendan Rodgers – leaves them hanging on to fourth place.

And left-back Robertson, who started all three of those defeats, adm…

Big news for all Napoli fans Dries Mertens is staying! The Belgian forward has been one of those players whose future was unknown since the start of the year, as he entered the final six months of his contract. That left the space open for other clubs to swoop in and try to lure Mertens with big salary and a signing-on bonus to make a move, since those clubs would not have to pay transfer fee to Partenopei.

But Napoli have managed to do what they wanted and now Napoli has agreed to sign a new three-year extension with them. This means the 33-year-old will be staying at San Paolo for at least another few years, whilst Chelsea and Inter will have to look elswhere. Those two clubs were the most interested, with Inter also rumoured to have offered Mertens a three-year deal worth 19…

Market: Both teams to score

Odds: 8/11 @

In what looks set to be a fiery FA Cup showdown on Saturday afternoon, Newcastle will travel to bitter local rivals Sunderland.

Starting with the hosts, while Sunderland might have suffered play-off heartbreak last season, Sunderland have their sights firmly set on securing another top-six ticket. Opening 2023 with an eye-catching performance at the Stadium of Light as they secured a 2-0 victory against Preston, new boss Michael Beale has seen his squad muster seven points from their previous three Championship appearances. Desperate to claim what would be a famous scalp on Saturday afternoon, the Black Cats will also be excited by their continued success on home soil. On a run that is highlighted by a 1-0 win against pro…

Former Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici said the Serie A champions have never been close to re-signing Manchester United star Paul Pogba.

Pogba is entering the final year of his United contract and the France international s future remains uncertain amid links with Juventus, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.

The 28-year-old, who left United for Juve in 2012 before returning to Old Trafford in 2016, has long been linked with the Bianconeri but Paratici played down the speculation.

Paul Pogba back to Juventus? I think it is very difficult, Paratici, who is now managing director of football at Tottenham, told Sky Sport.

There has never been a moment in which we have been close to taking him back.

Pogba was a standout performer at Euro …

Cagliari have hired Eusebio Di Francesco as their new coach after opting to cut short the stay of Walter Zenga.

Former Italy goalkeeper Zenga had been appointed during the coronavirus-enforced suspension, replacing Rolando Maran on a deal until June 30, 2021.

Speaking ahead of Saturday s 3-0 defeat at Milan in the club s final match of the season, Zenga seemed optimistic about his chances of continuing at the helm next term.

But club president Tommaso Giulini was clearly of a differing opinion, with Cagliari confirming on Sunday that Zenga s stay had been terminated despite guiding them to safety.

Di Francesco arrives in his place, signing a two-year deal as he returns to work following an ill-fated spell at Sampdoria last year.

He presided over …