Sven-Goran Eriksson says it is “like a dream” to be taking charge of Liverpool for their ‘Legends’ charity match at Anfield this weekend.
The 76-year-old former England boss, who revealed in January he had been diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer, will be part of the management team as the Reds play Ajax Legends in Saturday’s LFC Foundation fundraiser.
During interviews when he revealed his health issues, Eriksson said he had always been a Liverpool supporter and wanted to manage the club.
And on Friday the Swede told a press conference ahead of the charity game: “It’s like a dream.
“When I was a manager I always dreamt about Liverpool, but that never happened. It was close once, it was some discussion once, many years ago…it never happened. But now it happens!
“When they asked, I thought it was a joke. I said of course, and then it’s charity, which makes it even more lovely.
“’You’ll Never Walk Alone’ is magic. I’m looking forward to it. I’m very honoured and thankful to Liverpool that they gave me this opportunity.
“I think it must be maybe the best atmosphere in the world, in all big football stadiums I have been to, and part of that is the song when the players come out. The atmosphere is incredible.”
Eriksson said his love of Liverpool came from his father supporting the team.
He also said that around 1979, when he was young manager in his homeland, he wrote to the club asking if he could come to watch some training, and in reply received an invitation.
“I saw a game and some training, I was honoured to go into the Boot Room. That was great, fantastic,” he said.
“All the training sessions, they were playing one touch, two touches. The quality of the play was incredible, and ‘make it simple’ the coaches told me. I learned a lot of course.”
Eriksson said his father’s interest in the Merseyside outfit remains strong, saying: “He will not miss one game on television when Liverpool are playing. He phoned me the other day because he couldn’t find the right channel. The amazing thing is this game is going to be on television in Sweden live, so he will see it.”
Eriksson will have former Liverpool players Ian Rush, John Barnes and John Aldridge alongside him in the dugout as he oversees a side including Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.
Eriksson became the first foreign England manager when appointed in 2001 and subsequently led the team to the quarter-finals of two World Cups and one European Championship.
On his five-year England tenure, Eriksson, who feels Gareth Southgate’s team have a “huge chance” of winning this summer’s Euros in Germany, said: “If you are the coach or manager of England, that for me is the biggest job you ever can have.
“We didn’t win anything, but I was extremely proud and happy every day I had that job because I know it is one of the biggest football jobs you can have in the world. It is very special.”
Asked if he missed management, the ex-Lazio, Manchester City and Leicester boss said: “If I said no, I would lie. Of course you miss it.
“But I realise that I am a certain age. It’s OK. What I have done, I have done, and I’m happy about that. Now it’s over, almost – this will be the last game I suppose. So that’s great.”
With close to 60,000 tickets sold, there is set to be a record crowd in attendance for what is the eighth annual LFC Foundation match. Previous games have raised over £6.4million.
Third-place 'doesn't mean anything', says Forest boss Nuno
Nottingham Forest leapfrogged into third place in the Premier League after a 3-0 victory against West Ham United, but Nuno Espirito Santo believes “it doesn’t mean anything.”
Forest took the lead through in-form striker Chris Wood before Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ola Aina added two more following Edson Alvarez’s dismissal for a second yellow late in the first half.
It was a complete display for Nuno’s side, who have outperformed expectations so far this season, with this representing the first time Forest will end the day in the top three of the top-flight since 1998.
While the manager was proud of the achievement, he will not rest on his laurels this early in the season.
"It doesn't mean anything now. We have to keep going as it's a over long season ahead of us. Positive moment but we should keep going," Nuno told the press.
"I think all of us should be proud of the way we performed, we started the game well and controlled their threat while being positive going forward.
"The red card changed everything but the players understood not to be complacent. This is what football is about, fantastic moment for us and the fans."
Forest racked up an expected goals (xG) total of 2.08 while limiting West Ham to just 0.16 xG at the City Ground.
They had 19 shots, with six of those on target, leaving vice-captain Ryan Yates hungry for more by the final whistle.
"We were really getting into it at the end and we wanted more goals. Unfortunately mine didn't go in but we are delighted with today's work,” he told BBC 5 Live.
“[Nuno] can really implement the ideas. There are many things that have gone into why we were doing well. I think the recruitment has been fantastic. We have kept the core together and we are doing really well.”
City 'could not handle' Bournemouth, says Guardiola after shock defeat
Pep Guardiola admitted Manchester City "could not handle" the intensity of Bournemouth after falling to a 2-1 defeat on the south coast.
Goals from Antoine Semenyo and Evanilson saw City fall to a 2-0 deficit for the first time since January 2023 (against Tottenham), before Josko Gvardiol headed in what proved to be a consolation late on.
The defending champions had been struggling with injuries in the build-up to the fixture, leading to a bench with an average age of 23 years old.
Guardiola blamed those injury troubles for his side's failure to get back in the game at the Vitality Stadium.
"We knew we couldn't match the intensity. We have talked about it. It was an open game. We had chances at the end but I congratulate Bournemouth for the victory," he told BBC Sport.
"The 50-50 balls in the middle, the duels, they play this type of game. They are so aggressive. They had six, seven days to prepare. They have physicality and speed, but you have to win these types of situations.
"We have few players with a lot of minutes and a lot of players with no minutes to the balance is a bit uncomfortable. We played good against Spurs but today we could not handle their intensity that they had and that's why we lost the game."
City still managed to accumulate a higher expected goals (xG) total, finishing on 1.8 compared to Bournemouth's 1.74.
That was boosted significantly when struggling Erling Haaland saw a header saved in stoppage time before crashing the rebound against the base of the post from close range.
"We had real good moments at the start of the second half and after that it was difficult to swallow as we were good. After we scored we had momentum and chances but couldn't score [again]," added Guardiola.
It was an entirely different story for the hosts, who registered a third home victory on the bounce, after defeating City's title rivals Arsenal in October.
"It was a great game. We did everything we could. We needed our very best performance and not the greatest game [from City] and that happened. It is very good to beat City and even better to beat them deservedly," enthused Andoni Iraola.
"It is very difficult. They are a great team. They have amazing subs and you have to suffer, stay compact. We suffered after a good game. We had the chance to finish it and not suffer too much at the end, but now we have to enjoy it.
“We know there are better teams than us but it is not easy to play here and we have to keep this level so everyone knows that when they come here it will not be an easy game."
The victory came in no small part due to the standout performances of Semenyo and Milos Kerkez
Semenyo was central to every Bournemouth attack and accumulated 0.56 xG and created three chances, the highest in his team.
Kerkez proved instrumental, too, delivering both assists off the left wing, first beating Kyle Walker to drive to the byline and cut back for Semenyo's opener, before providing a brilliant cross for Evanilson to prod in Bournemouth's second.
"They played very well the last few games and today they had the finishing product. Milos had two assists, we felt he deserved to get the numbers and I am happy as it was a complete performance," added Iraola.
"To beat a team like City you need everyone to play really well and they did."
Slot lauds Liverpool's second-half turnaround after being 'outplayed' by Brighton
Arne Slot commended Liverpool's second-half comeback, but acknowledged his side were "outplayed" in the opening 45 minutes of their 2-1 win against Brighton.
Just 128 seconds separated Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah's goals after Ferdi Kadioglu had given the Seagulls a 14th-minute lead with a stunning finish.
The Reds could have found themselves further behind in the first half, with Brighton squandering several opportunities to increase their advantage at Anfield.
Caoimhin Kelleher came to Liverpool's rescue to deny Georginio Rutter after he had been picked out by Yasin Ayari's searching pass in behind Virgil van Dijk.
Danny Welbeck then curled a free-kick narrowly wide before sending another set-piece close, with Brighton ending the half in the ascendency. The Seagulls registered seven shots to Liverpool's five, while also accumulating a 0.78 expected goals (xG) tally compared to the Reds' 0.71 before the break.
"We needed another second-half performance because we were outplayed in the first half. They were better on the ball, more aggressive without the ball," Slot said.
"Then, everything changed in the second half because it was completely the opposite.
"Our attackers scored the goals but the main difference was we were better positioned and we had the ball a lot more.
"Without the ball they made problems for us but in the second half we just kept running."
The win was Slot's eighth in the Premier League, the most of any Liverpool boss in their first 10 top-flight games.
But the difference proved to be in the Dutchman's substitutes, with both goals coming after the introductions of Luis Diaz and Curtis Jones.
Jones set up Salah for the winning goal, a strike Slot described as "special" in his post-match assessment.
"I was waiting for us to score the goal, but we didn't. That's why I made the substitutions. Both of them came on really strong," Slot continued.
"Then you can say it's a bit of luck, but the goalkeeper cannot react. The second goal was a Mo Salah special.
"It's not the first and not the last time he will score from that position."
Salah's curled finish was his 48th match-winning goal in the Premier League, with only five players netting more in the competition’s history.
The Egyptian also tallied up his 16th goal involvement (10 goals, six assists) against Brighton, only managing more in the top-flight against Manchester United (18).
Salah's latest contribution sent Liverpool top of the pile after Arsenal and Manchester City's losses, though captain Van Dijk was not getting carried away with their league position.
"It's too early to even make it important. We want to be on top of the league but we want to be there after the last match in May," Van Dijk told Sky Sports.
"The results have been good so far this season but there is a long way to go.
"It is still a work in progress. We stay humble and keep fighting."
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