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Futbol

Cabango 'would Love' Sheehan As Permanent Boss

Swansea City captain Ben Cabango "would love it" if caretaker boss Alan Sheehan takes the role on a permanent basis. Cabango struck their winner at Sunderland on Saturday, a fifth triumph under Sheehan since he took the reins following Luke Williams' February departure. After flirting with a fight against relegation, the Swans now sit seemingly safe with 54 points at 12th in the table with four games left this season. "You can see all the players are behind him now, and I feel like he's done superbly well in his period he's had and the period he had previously as well," said Wales defender Cabango. "So he shows the qualities as a manager and I'd be delighted if it was him." Swansea have spent much of 2025 trying to avoid dropping towards the bottom three, thanks largely to a run of seven defeats in nine league games which led to former boss Williams' exit. Under Sheehan, the they have earned 17 points from nine league games. Sheehan joined Swansea in the summer of 2023, initially as assistant head coach to Michael Duff. After Duff's departure, Sheehan had seven games as caretaker boss in 2023-24 before reverting to his original role when Williams took over in January 2024. Having stepped up for a second time two months ago – and then agreed a deal until the end of this season last month - Sheehan is waiting to discover whether he will be offered a long-term contract. The Sunderland victory was a fifth since Sheehan took the reins, with only two defeats coming during what has been an encouraging run. But question marks remain over Sheehan's long-term future with Swansea known to have considered numerous options in the search for Williams' permanent successor. Cabango said it was "a great feeling" to hit Swansea's 58th-minute winner at Sunderland. But he also relished a third successive clean sheet as part of their rearguard. "I feel like we're loving defending as a team right now. Everyone's just giving it everything," Cabango said. "We're recovering well. If there's a mistake, we're always backing each other up and it's a good feeling that we've just got that foundation so we can build on it. "We've got to appreciate the blocks because they're always key moments in games and I feel like, when you do appreciate them, people want to do it more and we want to throw our bodies on the line and keep them clean sheets." Cabango also believes winning at promotion contenders Sunderland and drawing 2-2 at leaders Leeds United in March shows they can "definitely" compete with the division's best. "They're two one of the hardest places to go in the league and the performances we've showed here (Sunderland), we've not just sat in, we've actually created chances, especially in the Leeds game," he added. "I think we were a bit more penned in (at Sunderland), but we're showing we have that quality when we do get the chances and we put them away, and we're hard to break down."

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Futbol

Mercedes' Sansoni Could Lead Man Utd Data Drive

Sir Jim Ratcliffe could use Ineos' Formula 1 involvement to help revolutionise Manchester United's data analysis. Amid a wide range of criticisms of United, Ratcliffe used an interview with the United We Stand fanzine to claim the club was "still in the last century of data analysis" and that it "doesn't really exist here". Although the club does spend significant amounts of money on data, Ratcliffe is determined to improve the situation. And that could lead to the appointment of Michael Sansoni, an engineer at Mercedes. No deal has been agreed yet but Ineos is a part-owner in the Mercedes F1 team, which should smooth the process. Sansoni is due to leave Mercedes at the end of the year and sources say a move to United would be akin to keeping him in the family and something that would be supported. One of the major issues for United in recent seasons has been recruitment. A gross spend in excess of £900m over the five years from 2019-2024 is a figure exceeded only by Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal over the same period. Few of the new arrivals could be regarded even as qualified successes, with the likes of Antony, Jadon Sancho, Donny van de Beek and Rasmus Hojlund alone providing little return for a total outlay of £260m. It has not gone unnoticed at Old Trafford how Brighton and Brentford consistently punch above their weight in Premier League terms because of their use of data. Ratcliffe is committed to United making better use of their financial muscle and believes data is a way of doing that.

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Futbol

Barcelona are four points clear of second-placed Real Madrid Leganes sit 19th, two points off safety La Liga leaders Barcelona extended their unbeaten run to 24 games but were far from their best in a narrow victory at relegation-threatened Leganes. They needed an own goal by Jorge Saenz to get over the line - the home defender forced into the error from Raphinha's tantalising cross, with Robert Lewandowski lurking ominously behind him for a tap-in. Leganes, who are two points from safety but won the return fixture between the sides in December, had the better chances in the first half - Adria Altimira forcing a good save from Wojciech Szczesny, and Dani Raba twice going close. Hansi Flick's visitors seemed to gain some control after going ahead, Fermin Lopez inexplicably shooting wide after some fine skill in a tight penalty area, but they had to ride their luck with Raba having a goal chalked off for offside and substitute Diego Garcia sliding wide when well-placed to score. The win extends Barcelona's lead at the top to seven points, before arch-rivals Real Madrid's trip to struggling Alaves on Sunday (15:15 BST). Barca made only two changes from the side that beat Borussia Dortmund 4-0 in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday, but it was still a disjointed display despite it being an eighth away win in a row in all competitions. They were dealt a blow in the first half with influential left-back Alejandro Balde forced off with an injury, and could easily have conceded at least once on another day. Poland striker Lewandowski came close to his 100th Barcelona goal, glancing wide from another delicious Raphinha delivery, while Leganes centre-back Saenz almost suffered the ignominy of a second own goal - deflecting a cross just past the post. Manager Flick's side next head to Germany for their Champions League last-eight second-leg tie on Tuesday.