LONDON -- Chelsea are prepared to grant Maurizio Sarri's request to join Juventus, sources have told ESPN FC.

Sarri is understood to have told director Marina Granovskaia on Friday that he wanted to return to Italy and succeed Massimiliano Allegri, two days after the 4-1 win over Arsenal in the Europa League final -- his first major trophy.

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Sources told ESPN FC that Chelsea would not have been inclined to sack Sarri even if his side had lost in Baku, but were open to letting the head coach leave if he indicated a desire to do so and another club made an official approach to buy him out of his contract.

Sarri signed a two-year deal with an option for a third when he joined Chelsea from Napoli last summer, and compensation in the region of £5 million would be expected.

Chelsea's readiness to lose their coach is in part due to him having proved a divisive figure among fans despite leading the club to third place in the Premier League and two cup finals in his first season in England.

Juventus president Andrea Agnelli was pictured meeting Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck at the team hotel in Baku before the Europa League final, while Granovskaia also travelled to Azerbaijan.

Details of Sarri's move to Juventus remain to be finalised, but Chelsea will step up the search for candidates to succeed him.

Reports in Italy have mentioned Allegri as a potential option, while Chelsea gave Laurent Blanc significant consideration before appointing Sarri.

Frank Lampard is also likely to be considered after his promising first season in management at Derby, where his work developing Chelsea loanees Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori impressed at Stamford Bridge.

However, the uncertainty surrounding Chelsea's appeal against a two-window transfer ban could hinder their ability to attract high-profile names, while playmaker Eden Hazard is widely expected to move to Real Madrid.

Former Sevilla, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid forward Jose Antonio Reyes has died in a car crash at the age of 35, his boyhood club Sevilla have announced.

In a statement, Sevilla said: "We couldn't be confirming worse news. Beloved Sevilla star Jose Antonio Reyes has died in a traffic collision. Rest in peace."

We couldn't be confirming worse news. Beloved Sevilla star José Antonio Reyes has died in a traffic collision. Rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/qeGl2nsi3c

— Sevilla FC (@SevillaFC_ENG) June 1, 2019

Spanish newspaper Marca reported that the accident happened in his hometown Utrera, a province of Seville, on Saturday morning.

UEFA said a minute's silence would be observed at Saturday's Champions League final between Tottenham and Liverpool in Madrid.

Reyes made his debut for Sevilla aged 16 in the 1999-2000 season and moved to Arsenal in January 2004, winning the Premier League as part of the unbeaten "Invincibles" side.

He was sent off in extra time of the 2005 FA Cup final win over Manchester United and also lifted the Community Shield during his time at Highbury. His final appearance for the Gunners came in the 2-1 defeat to Barcelona in the 2006 Champions League final.

Arsenal wrote on their Twitter account: "Everyone at Arsenal is devastated by the shocking news that our former player Jose Antonio Reyes has died in a traffic collision in Spain. Rest in peace, Jose."

Reyes, who won 21 caps for Spain, joined Real Madrid on loan later that year, winning La Liga, and then making a permanent move to Atletico Madrid -- with whom he won the Europa League twice -- a year later.

A loan spell at Benfica followed before Reyes returned to Sevilla, helping them to three consecutive Europa League triumphs and becoming the tournament's record winner with five overall.

He then went on to play for Espanyol and Cordoba before moving to Xinjiang in China and returning to Spain with Extremadura in January.

Spain captain Sergio Ramos, who played alongside Reyes at Sevilla, wrote on social media "I'm broken, destroyed, I have no words. All my love to his family. We'll always remember him. Rest in peace, brother."

Sevilla sporting director Monchi said: "It's impossible to believe this news, it's impossible to take in, how cruel. Rest in peace, Jose Antonio Reyes."

Reyes' final match was a 1-0 win at Alcorcon on May 18. Extremadura had been due to play at Cadiz on Sunday, but La Liga said: "Due to the death of Jose Antonio Reyes, the 7 games of match-day 41 of #LaLiga123, scheduled to be played this Sunday will now be postponed until Tuesday, June 4th at 9:00 p.m."

Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane will start the Champions League final against Liverpool in Madrid, with Lucas Moura the unlucky man dropping to the bench.

Kane declared himself fit for the match after seven weeks out, leaving manager Mauricio Pochettino to decide whether to alter the Spurs' lineup that dramatically beat Ajax in the semifinals.

And Pochettino has opted to include the England captain, the club's leading scorer this season, which means Moura, who scored a hat trick against Ajax in the semifinal second leg, has to settle for a place on the bench.

#THFC: Lloris (C), Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose, Winks, Sissoko, Eriksen, Dele, Son, Kane. @WilliamHill latest (18+) https://t.co/1HRJd1Kg3B#UCLfinal ⚪️ #COYS pic.twitter.com/llnpxbjrdn

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) June 1, 2019

Kane, who has made a full recovery from an ankle ligament injury, is joined in the XI by Harry Winks. Neither player has played since the 1-0 Champions League win against Manchester City on April 9.

"We haven't had this situation this season [having everyone fit]," Pochettino told BT Sport ahead of the game.

"Sometimes this [squad selection] looks fair or unfair. We have a team to start, how it's going to finish I don't know.

"We could play 90 minutes or 120 minutes and of course we have amazing impact players like Lucas, like Fernando [Llorente], but it is not possible to put all, we can't start with 16, 17 players."

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Speaking on Friday, Pochettino had refused to be drawn on whether Kane would start or play a role off the bench and said he would not take a decision until after training.

"It's difficult to put yourself in my place," he said. "It's not going to be easy to take a decision and every game you need to take a decision.

"You can use only 11 players from the beginning -- that is the most painful situation. The whole squad will be on the pitch before the game tomorrow.

"Tomorrow is to show togetherness. Tomorrow will show football is a collective sport, the energy even from the players who do not play in the dressing room will be decisive."

As expected, Brazilian forward Roberto Firmino starts for Liverpool after coming back from a groin injury, with Divock Origi, who scored twice in the 4-0 semi-final, second-leg win over Barcelona on the bench.

Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1): Hugo Lloris; Kieran Trippier, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Danny Rose; Harry Winks, Moussa Sissoko; Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen; Son Heung-min, Harry Kane.

Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson; Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum; Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane.

Information from Reuters was used in this report.

Imran Tahir's solipsistic wicket rampages are not everybody's cup of tea. Some might argue, with justification, that in a team sport such as cricket, the direction of travel in that moment of exquisite release after the snaring of an opposition batsman ought to be towards one's team-mates (including the chap who has often just held a catch for you) rather than towards the most sparsely populated corner of the outfield.

But then Tahir's career has been uniquely reliant on his own sense of direction - whether that means emigrating from his native Pakistan for the love of a good woman (as he did in the wake of the 1998 Under-19 World Cup in South Africa), or making his international debut for that newly adopted country at the age of 31, and at the 2011 World Cup in India to boot.

So you could forgive him his glee on Thursday morning, when he conjured up South Africa's undoubted highlight of an otherwise chastening tournament opener against England. Not content with becoming the first spinner (the first non-right-arm seamer, in fact) to bowl the opening delivery of a World Cup, he followed that up, one ball later, by stopping the previously rampant Jonny Bairstow dead in his tracks for a first-ball duck.

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And so, while the wider focus for South Africa has to be on those inevitable early frissons of anxiety that only World Cup campaigns can cause, Tahir could be excused for taking a moment on the eve of the game to pause, to take stock, and to reflect on the prospect, unthinkable a decade ago, of playing in his 100th ODI.

"It feels really special," Tahir said. "It's been an amazing journey. I always dreamt that, but I never thought I will be here one day playing my 100th game for South Africa. It's an absolute honour and privilege, being given the opportunity by the lovely people from South Africa.

"I'm just really grateful to everybody, and I hope that from myself, that I give everything that I could for the country."

While he has clearly been living the dream for the past decade (and a pretty wild one at that, given that it began with him providing for his siblings by packing bags in a retail store in Lahore), Tahir knows that he is nearer the end than the beginning.

He turned 40 back in March, and at some stage in the course of the ten fixtures still available to South Africa in this tournament, he will call time on the 50-over leg of his international career at the very least. The World T20 in 2020 remains a plausible postscript for a player who will be returning to The Oval immediately after the World Cup to play for Surrey (his eighth county) in the T20 Blast.

"Obviously, if I look back, I'm really proud of myself," he said. "I'm the guy who come through a lot of hard patches, I've seen a lot of hardships. I lost my parents without them seeing me play international cricket. So these things are really special to me, and for my family.

"I have not seen my brothers or sisters in the last two years, so this country that I'm representing and every game I'm playing for is really important to me, and I'm really proud. I'm just really grateful to my family. They understand that, you know, I'm away from them, but there is an important reason for that."

Indeed there is. For all the talk of how the round-robin format of the 2019 World Cup can be forgiving to sides who make a slow start to the tournament, South Africa's itinerary is proof that there will be jeopardy at every step of the group stages. Defeat against Bangladesh - Champions Trophy semi-finalists and recent tri-series winners in Ireland - would leave them excruciatingly placed going into India's opening match in Southampton on Wednesday.

"Look, there is always a pressure if you play every game and especially when you are representing your country," said Tahir. "But you can take the pressure positively or negatively, and we are very positive. We have been beaten by a very good England team who has been dominating world cricket for a year or so, but we are going to learn from our mistakes."

Those mistakes, for the most part, were made by the batsmen whom Tahir admitted had allowed themselves to be rushed in the run-chase. Broadly speaking, their bowlers and fielders were exonerated after limiting England to a daunting but obtainable 311 for 9 - and Tahir was a key factor in that performance, thanks to that initial impact and the overall energy of his two-wicket display.

"I am the kind of guy who likes challenges and I like to think that my captain [Faf du Plessis] can give me a ball in any situation and I will be the first guy to say yes," he said. "It was a plan which I had been working on for the last year or so, so I think we knew that it was going to be pretty much a shock for everybody.

"It was a great challenge, bowling against two top players in world cricket who have been in form, and we were really pleased as a team with the way it came out."

The same strip will be in use for the Bangladesh match, which may tempt South Africa into a repeat performance (not that the man himself would be drawn). But whenever he enters the fray, you can be sure that further crucial breakthroughs will cause his team-mates to gravitate towards him once again ... wherever in the outfield his cavorting may carry him.

"I always look for one thing, and that's hard work and to never give up," Tahir said. "I know I'm the oldest guy on the team, which I'm really proud of, because playing on this team, you need to be very fit.

"I'm really enjoying my cricket. I'm enjoying my team-mates. I just hope as a team we have a great World Cup, like how we thought before we came to England."

There was papare music enlivening the stands in Cardiff, hundreds of Sri Lankan flags aflutter, and raucous cheers for every Sri Lankan boundary. Fans had traveled hours to be at this match, filling out early morning trains from London, and booking out Cardiff hotels for the night.

It should have been a happy day out, but it was barely a half-day - Sri Lanka dusted off in emphatic fashion, in the space of 45 overs. There were even some reports of boos and hoots for their team, from the Sri Lankan sections of the crowd. Captain Dimuth Karunaratne - the only batsman to remain at the crease for more than 40 deliveries, made no excuses for his team. If spectators were angry, perhaps they had a right to be.

"Everyone came here to see a good match. They came from far away, spending their money. We needed to give them a good match. Losing is one thing, but we need to fight for the sake of the spectators. If you only make 130-odd, that's not a match," Karunaratne said after the bruising ten-wicket loss. "Personally, a lot of people had wished as well and urged us to do well in this first match. Everyone was looking forward to this game, and to playing well.

"If we had fought and made a good fist of this game and then lost, it wouldn't have been so hard to swallow."

"If we get it in our heads that we can't bat well here, we can't put the kind of score on the board that our bowlers can defend"

Sri Lanka are ranked ninth, and are nursing a woeful ODI record over the past two years. Karunaratne knows his team is not expected to challenge for the title. But the Test side he had led in South Africa earlier in the year was perhaps even more unfancied than this ODI side, beset as it had been by injury and inexperience. There, his team had somehow find the means to compete, and seized key moments in each of the Tests to turn the tide in their favour.

"There's a limit to our capabilities, and if you compare us with some other teams, realistically we are a side with limited talent," Karunaratne said. "But there's no reason why we can't win with what we've got. We really thank the spectators, and their support is really important to us. We've got eight games left now. We want to come back and fight. If we win one game, we'll build some momentum. The support that we get is vital, because it's just 15 of us in the squad, and 30 of us traveling together with the team. We need that support around us."

Sri Lanka's bowlers were unable to dent New Zealand, who sped to the meagre target at a rate of 8.47 an over, but it was at the batsmen's feet that Karunaratne laid almost all the blame. Especially crucial was the period between the ninth and 16th overs of Sri Lanka's innings, where they nosedived from 46 for 1 to 60 for 6. Yes, a green pitch and the skilful New Zealand seam bowling were challenges, Karunaratne said, but there was no excuse for a collapse quite that dramatic.

"Because there was a bit of grass on the pitch, we were on the back foot," he said. "The NZ attack is very good, but when Kusal Perera and I were batting, there wasn't too much seam and swing. But as soon as we went on the back foot, we couldn't play as well as we know we can.

"More than the conditions, the problem is in our mind. There was some quick bowling from them, but it's only with a few overs that they made it very difficult for us. If we had seen out those tough periods, we could have been in a better place. Even though it's not the kind of pitch that's conducive to 300 or 350, if we get it in our heads that we can't bat well here, we can't put the kind of score on the board that our bowlers can defend."

Bowlers from both sides could be forgiven for letting out a little groan, or perhaps even clasping an imaginary hamstring strain, after news that Monday's match between England and Pakistan is to be played on a surface renowned for vast scores.

Yes, England's second World Cup game will be played on the same pitch on which they have twice broken the record for highest ODI score, amassing 481 for 6 against Australia last year and 444 for 3 against Pakistan in 2016. It is two away from the strip used on Friday, when Pakistan were bounced out for 105, and, in short, probably the best batting surface in the world for ODI cricket at present.

This tournament may prove just a little different, though. Early indications suggest the early starts - most matches begin at 10.30am to maximise the peak hours for an Asian TV audience - may have shifted the balance in such encounters just a little bit back towards the bowlers. Vast scores are still likely, but talk of reaching 500 may prove premature if the sides batting first have to adopt a slightly more circumspect start to their innings.

Perhaps the hostility of the bowlers may be a factor, too. Certainly, in the opening few games we have seen the short ball used a little more than was expected, and with some success. Not only were Pakistan blown away by West Indies, but Jofra Archer troubled several South Africa batsmen with his short ball. While bowling short is hardly revolutionary, it could a tactic that increases in prevalence again during this World Cup just as delivering wide yorkers or slower balls became features of previous tournaments. It is remarkable to think that some of the best seamers in the first three World Cups - Joel Garner, for example - rarely bowled a slower ball.

Given how Pakistan played - or didn't play - the short ball on Friday, there is sure to be some temptation for England to add Mark Wood to the attack that fared so well the previous day. Wood, who at his best is every bit as quick as Archer, bowled at full pace in training in Nottingham on Saturday and is said to be fit and available for selection. But Liam Plunkett, who would be the most likely candidate to make way for him, enjoyed a fine all-round game on Thursday and would be unfortunate to miss out. Neither Chris Woakes (five overs) nor Archer (seven) bowled their full allocation, so are expected to be fit and fresh to play again.

"I think playing Wood will be discussed," Graham Thorpe, the England batting coach, said. "We're aware of what went on here on Friday. We saw West Indies go pretty hard at Pakistan. The captain will make a call on it."

There is every chance England will be on the receiving end of some hostile fast bowling at some stage, too. While West Indies and Australia look especially capable of adopting such a tactic, there is plenty of pace in the Pakistan, squad. To that end, the England batsmen have faced a fair bit of Archer and Wood in the nets and appreciate that it is a tactic - like opponents opening the bowling with spin - for which they must be prepared.

"Wood and Archer let it go at our guys, too," Thorpe said. "It's good preparation for them. We talk about what you have to be good at and, generally, playing pace and spin is high on the agenda. We had spoken about the possibility of teams starting with spin. So sometimes in training, our players will start against spin and sometimes they'll start against pace. They have to be prepared for everything."

Despite the pre-tournament talk about huge totals, Thorpe was actually most impressed by the manner in which England adapted to a slightly more demanding surface in their first match. It is not a skill they have they have always shown, so to have managed it under pressure in such a high-profile game has given the side confidence.

"We've come a cropper a couple of times in the last year or two," Thorpe said. "And we've spoken about it. But you can talk about it all the time, you've got to put it into action as well. So it was pleasing we managed to adapt and the guys are really proud of that.

"We didn't quite unlock the door in terms of our batting at The Oval. We couldn't really let go, because we kept losing wickets at crucial times. We had to keep trying to put on those mini-partnerships and that was really good of us to do that.

"But this [Trent Bridge] has generally been a good ground to play at over the years. It has generally always been a good pitch. So the guys are excited. They are looking forward to it."

Well, the batsmen anyway. Despite the early starts and prevalence of the short ball, it still promises to be a tough game for bowlers.

Australia 209 for 3 (Warner 89*, Finch 66) beat Afghanistan 207 (Najibullah 51, Rahmat 43, Cummins 3-40, Zampa 3-60) by seven wickets

Eleven years after winning the World Cricket League Division Five in the British Isles, Afghanistan completed a remarkable turnaround to make it to their second World Cup, also in the UK, but Australia captain Aaron Finch and his fellow opener David Warner rained on their parade, handing them a seven-wicket defeat.

In his first international game after serving a one-year ban for his role in the Newlands ball-tampering scandal, Warner was booed when he walked out to open Australia's 208 chase and later when he reached a half-century. Some fans even dressed up in sandpaper boxes. Steven Smith, if anything, drew louder and more persistent boos when he walked out at No. 4. But the two marked their reunion with a busy 49-run stand - highlighted by frenetic running - which hastened Australia's victory. Smith fell with Australia three away from victory, but Glenn Maxwell teed up the win with a first-ball four. Warner walked off, bat raised and unbeaten.

It was Mitchell Starc - another comeback man - who had laid down the marker with a thrilling first over, where he breached the 150kph barrier. The mean inswinger barged through the defences of Mohammad Shahzad, for a duck, and he backed it up with an even meaner stare.

In the next over, Pat Cummins had the other opener Hazratullah Zazai nicking off for a duck, too. Najibullah Zadran and captain Gulbadin Naib muscled 83 together off 77 balls after that, but Afghanistan's go-for-broke approach meant that they were dismissed for 207 with nearly 12 overs unused in their innings. In the end, they were left with a teasing thought: what might have been had they batted 50 overs and given their world-class spinners more runs to work with?

Watch on Hotstar (India only): Australia breeze past Afghanistan

In pursuit of a rather slim target, Finch went after both Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan to force Afghanistan into a corner. He deployed his signature giant stride and crunched 20 off ten balls from Mujeeb, hitting him out of the attack. By the time Rashid was introduced, Australia were 69 for 0 in 13 overs. Rashid's first two balls to Finch were carted for four and six, but three overs later Naib tricked Finch with a 111kph slower ball and had him holing out to deep cover.

At the other end, Warner reined himself in and took charge of the chase after Hamid Hassan - with his Rocky-style headband on and Afghanistan flag painted on his cheeks - harried the opener with pace. Pace like fire. Pace at 145kph. Pace that belied his near two-year absence from top-fight cricket.

Warner, though, saw off that fiery spell and built his innings with gentle little bunts and pushes. But there was one stirring moment when he swatted a slower ball from Dawlat Zadran over mid-off. Outside of that, it was his running between the wickets that stood out: he claimed nine twos and one three. After getting to his fifty off 74 balls, he grew more fluent, particularly against spin and ushered Australia home in fuss-free fashion.

Afghanistan had showed sparks of brilliance after choosing to bat first, but they could not sustain it for long enough. Rahmat Shah played some exquisite punches and flicks during his 43 while Najibullah unleashed unleashed a more brutal assault on Adam Zampa, slamming him for 4,4,6,6 in the 29th over. Naib had his share of fun, hitting Cummins and Nathan Coulter-Nile away to the leg-side boundaries. But just when the Najibullah-Naib stand was threatening to take the game away from Australia, Marcus Stoinis returned to the attack and bounced out both the set batsmen.

Rashid then cracked Stoinis for four boundaries in five balls to haul Afghanistan past 200. But, they continued to throw their bats and wickets away, folding in 38.2 overs. Zampa and Cummins, who wound up with three wickets each, cleaned up the tail and set the scene for Warner's match-winning return.