Frank Lampard s decision to leave Chelsea as a player has helped him as a manager, according to West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini.
Lampard has overseen a decent start to the season for Chelsea, who are fourth in the Premier League ahead of Saturday s clash against West Ham.
Pellegrini was in charge of Manchester City for Lampard s only campaign at the club in 2014-15 after the former England international decided to end a 13-season stay at Stamford Bridge.
The Chilean, whose team are just three points clear of the relegation zone, said that decision was a good one for Lampard.
When you want to be a manager you must want to learn as much as you can, Pellegrini told reporters.
During your career as a player, you see different people who manage the c…
Piero Ausilio shrugged off rumours linking former Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho with a return to Inter as he insisted the Serie A side are very happy with Luciano Spalletti.
Mourinho s two-and-a-half year tenure came to an end on Tuesday after the embattled manager was sacked by United, who fell 19 points off the pace following their 3-1 defeat to Premier League leaders Liverpool on Sunday.
Speculation of a return to Inter, where Mourinho is still a revered figure after guiding the Nerazzurri to the treble of Scudetto, Champions League and Coppa Italia in 2010, has emerged since the 55-year-old s departure from Manchester.
However, Inter director Ausilio said his club have no plans to replace head coach Spalletti with Mourinho.
Manchester Unite…
Virgil van Dijk told Darwin Nunez to get his head down, work and be important for Liverpool after the striker s decisive cameo performance against Manchester City.
Nunez came on with just under an hour played in Saturday s Community Shield clash between the Premier League champions and the FA Cup winners.
He made a telling impact, winning a penalty when his header struck the arm of Ruben Dias to enable Liverpool to restore their lead through Mohamed Salah after Julian Alvarez had cancelled out Trent Alexander-Arnold s opener.
Nunez, signed from Benfica for a fee of £64million (€75m), with a further £21.4m (€25m) in potential add-ons, capped off a 3-1 triumph for Jurgen Klopp s side with a header late in stoppage time.
The 23-year-old had been the t…
Lazio sporting director Igli Tare has refused to discount the prospect of signing David Silva on a free transfer.
Silva will leave Manchester City after the Champions League concludes, having spent a hugely successful 10 years at the Etihad Stadium.
There has been growing speculation the 34-year-old could move to Simone Inzaghi s side, who have secured a return to the Champions League for the first time since 2007-08.
Tare claims to have mutual friends of the midfielder but appeared keen to make it clear that any prospective deal is some way off.
He s a great player, but I don t know where certain stories come from, Tare told Sky Sport Italia prior to Lazio s 2-0 Serie A win over Brescia on Wednesday.
I ve heard from mutual friends that he would…
Milan moved into fifth in Serie A after Zlatan Ibrahimovic secured a 2-1 victory away to 10-man Sassuolo on Tuesday.
The Rossoneri edged above Roma and Napoli in the table thanks to a first-half double from their veteran striker either side of Francesco Caputo s penalty, before Mehdi Bourabia was sent off late in the first half.
It marked the ninth league game in a row in which Milan scored at least twice and further highlighted their progress under Stefano Pioli, who could well be staying in charge for next season.
Sassuolo were surprisingly slack with their customary passing out from the back and paid the price 19 minutes in, with Hakan Calhanoglu s exquisite cross nodded in by Ibrahimovic after Franck Kessie had won back the ball.
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Sadio Mane feels he has benefitted from an extended break as he looks to regain his best form for Liverpool in 2021-22.
Mane scored 11 times in the Premier League last season as Liverpool failed to defend their title.
That was his second-lowest tally for Liverpool since he joined from Southampton in 2016-17, with the Senegal forward only netting fewer league goals in the 2017-18 season (10), while last term also featured a run of just three strikes in 20 games before helping himself to a double against Crystal Palace on the final day.
Mane did however keep up his creativity, supplying seven assists from 61 chances created – the most opportunities he has crafted in a Premier League season since his arrival in England seven years ago.
Only in 2018-19 (3,0…
Borja Mayoral has joined Roma on an initial two-year loan from Real Madrid.
Roma have paid €2million for the temporary deal for the forward and have an option to make the move permanent for €15m during the 2020-21 season or €20m in the subsequent campaign.
Should the Giallorossi exercise their purchase right, Mayoral will be on a contract running until June 2025.
I am pleased to finally join – it has been a hectic few days, but the main thing is everything has worked out for the best, Mayoral said in a club statement.
It s an honour for me to represent an historic club like Roma. I am grateful to the club for the faith they have shown; I will give everything for this club and I hope to make our fans proud.
Roma CEO Guido Fienga added: …
According to a recent report from Liverpool Echo, Liverpool are currently in talks with Georginio Wijnaldum over the possibility of the Dutchman signing a new contract with the club. Wijnaldum is coming off the back of one of his best seasons ever, with his brace against Barcelona in the Champions League earlier this year helping Liverpool on their way towards the final.
In addition to this Wijnaldum is also starting to make himself more of a regular with the Netherlands’ senior team, with the expectation being that he is going to be one of their featured stars during next summer’s UEFA Euro 2020 competition.
Given the direction that Liverpool are heading in both domestically and in Europe, it makes all the sense in the world for them to try and lock some of th…
Stefano Pioli wants Rafael Leao to lead a Milan resurgence as he warned his team their Champions League run must not come at the expense of a top-four finish.
The Milan head coach said Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not yet ready to start games after making two substitute appearances since returning from major knee surgery.
They cannot therefore look to the inspirational Swedish veteran, but in 23-year-old Portuguese winger Leao they have a proven match-winner and last season s Serie A MVP.
Beaten by Fiorentina in the last round of games, Milan host Salernitana on Monday, and victory would vault them back into the top four.
The Rossoneri were on a high after booking a Champions League quarter-final spot on Wednesday, edging through at Tottenham s expense.
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Looking to keep up their momentum before this year s World Cup finals, Argentina will meet Jamaica at the Red Bull Arena in the early hours of Wednesday.
Argentina
Returning from the summer break last weekend with a thumping display against Honduras, Argentina appear to be riding a real wave. Eventually cruising their way to a 3-0 victory against Honduras in Florida, Lionel Scaloni s men are remarkably unbeaten in each of their last 34 straight contests across all formats. With that stellar purple patch stemming all the way back to July 2019, the south American giants have been tipped to potentially cause a real upset at this year s World Cup finals. With their run highlighted by a 3-0 victory against European champions Italy three mo…