Joe Joyce channelled Arnold Schwarzenegger and vowed he will be back after a surprise defeat to Zhilei Zhang.

A sixth-round TKO issued a hammer blow to Joyce's heavyweight title ambitions, relinquishing his WBO interim belt after a commanding display by 39-year-old Zhang.

Pre-fight build-up largely orientated around what lied beyond the Chinese fighter for Joyce, who was in line for a shot at Oleksandr Usyk's belts with his position as the WBO's mandatory challenger.

However, he was third for that shot due to the rotational system in place among boxing's governing bodies, and his defeat has now knocked him out of the queue entirely.

The manner of Joyce's loss will be of the most concern, as Zhang issued consistent punishment to the Brit, particularly around the left eye – which eventually forced referee Howard Foster to bring the contest to a halt.

Though expressing regret at his display, Joyce vowed to return after issuing an apology to his fans.

"I'm just disappointed with my performance, I think the right hand he kept hitting me with I couldn't get out of the way," he told BT Sport.

"Respect to Zhilei Zhang, it was a good fight but I think I could have done better, I think because I haven't fought a southpaw for so long.

"Credit to him because he was a good fighter, and I gave it my all. I think I could do better but it's just disappointing.

"I just couldn't get away from his left hand, I kept on getting hit so I was disappointed, and I'd like to apologise to all of my fans and supporters.

"But I also want to thank you for coming down here, I'll be back, my journey's not over this is just a hurdle I may have tripped over so I'll be back."

A rematch against Zhang remains a likely priority, particularly with other mandatory challengers due to get their shot at the titles first, and Joyce suggested he could take another fight before settling the score.

"We're going to discuss it," he told the BBC. "I could have one in between. I'm just going to decide. I'm going to have some time off and reflect and watch the tape back and see where I went wrong."

Steve Kerr feels the Golden State Warriors are "whole" again with the return of Andrew Wiggins, despite defeat in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series to the Sacramento Kings.

Wiggins featured for the first time since February 13, having missed two months because of a family matter, and impressed in his 28-minute display – finishing with 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting and four blocked shots as the Warriors went down 126-123 at Golden 1 Center.

His performance impressed Kerr, particularly his first half display, and the signs look promising for the rest of the series.

"So awesome to have him back. You know, we're whole with him out there. Our team makes sense with Wiggs back. I thought he looked really good," Kerr said.

"The first half was amazing, second half he maybe wore down a little bit, which is to be expected, given he hasn't played in a game in over two months. He was fantastic."

Stephen Curry had a similar assessment of Wiggins' return, saying: "When you go through all the decisions to put a roster together, all of the pieces have to be fit.

"He's a big part of everything we do. When you go into a season, you want to be as fully healthy as possible because that's the way all the pieces are meant to fit.

"We haven't had it for a very long time, and we tried to hold down the fort. Now we have that look back."

The Warriors meet the Kings in Game 2 on Monday, then finishing the series with back-to-back home games on Thursday and Sunday.

Mike Trout joined some elite company with his 300th career double but it was an unhappy return for the Los Angeles Angels who lost 9-7 to the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.

Trout, who went three-for-four, became just the fourth player in MLB history to reach 300 doubles, 300 homers and 200 stolen bases by his age-31 season, alongside  Willie Mays, Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez.

The Angels had skipped ahead to a 4-0 lead after Urshela's first-inning grand slam, with Trout having doubled to left to reach his milestone with a rocket off the Green Monster.

But Rafael Devers halved the deficit with his seventh blast of the season, a two-run shot, taking him up to the top of the majors' charts for home runs.

Yu Chang ended his none-for-29 drought with a go-ahead two-run homer in the fourth inning,

The Angels regained the lead in the sixth inning from Shohei Ohtani's RBI single. Ohtani also extended his on-base streak to 36 games, which is the best active streak in the majors.

But Chang delivered again with a two-run single in the eighth inning to finish with four RBIs. That came amid an eighth where Angels' Matt Thaiss was called twice for catcher interference, prolonging the inning.

Ryan Brasier got the win, with Kenley Jensen taking the final three outs for his fourth save.

Alonso blasts league-leading homer in Mets win

Pete Alonso crushed his league-leading seventh home run of the season as the New York Mets rallied past the Oakland Athletics 3-2.

Alonso's fourth-inning blast got the wheels in motion for the Mets, after the A's opened up a 2-0 lead at the bottom of the second inning.

The Mets rallied into the lead with two runs in the seventh inning, with Mark Canha's 414-foot homer followed by Brandon Nimmo's RBI double.

Alonso leads the majors for homers with seven alongside Red Sox's Rafael Devers, with Baltimore Orioles' Ryan Mountcastle and Los Angeles Dodgers' Max Muncy having six each.

Miggy records 16th career walk-off with single

Miguel Cabrera produced an 11th-inning walk-off single for the Detroit Tigers to edge the San Francisco Giants 7-6.

The Tigers had to rally from a five-run deficit, trailing 6-1 after J.D. Davis' two-run blast at the top of the third inning, pulling back two runs in the fifth, before Javier Baez's two-run double in the eighth followed by Spencer Torkelson's single.

Detroit's 39-year-old pinch-hitter, who recorded his 3,000th career hit last season, brought up his 16th career walk-off with his 3,095th career hit up the middle to score Torkelson.

Stephen Curry missed a clean three-point attempt on the buzzer as the Sacramento Kings claimed their first playoff win in almost 17 years with a 126-123 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.

De'Aaron Fox came alight with 15 final-quarter points for the Kings in a back-and-forth encounter, finishing with 38 on 13-of-27 shooting from the field with four three-pointers.

Curry almost sent Game 1 of their first round playoffs to overtime when he received Draymond Green's inbound pass with 2.9 seconds left, only for his shot to rim out.

Andrew Wiggins had missed a wide-open three-point attempt for the lead with 10.1 seconds left, before Malik Monk made two free-throws to open up the decisive three-point lead.

Curry finished with 30 points on 11-of-20 shooting with six three-pointers made, along with six rebounds and two assists.

Klay Thompson made five-of-14 from beyond the arc, managing 21 points, while Draymond Green had nine rebounds and 11 assists.

Kings center Domantas Sabonis had a double-double with 12 points and 16 rebounds, while Monk finished with an outstanding 32 points in 29 minutes off the bench, making a perfect 14-of-14 from the line.

Brunson repels Cavs and Mitchell rally

Jalen Brunson helped the New York Knicks steady after a late Cleveland Cavaliers rally to grab a 101-97 road win in Game 1 despite Donovan Mitchell's best efforts.

The Cavs claimed the lead with 2:12 remaining in the final period from Jarrett Allen tip-in capping a stunning 9-0 run, before a clutch Josh Hart triple followed by Brunson step-back jump shot.

Brunson finished with a team-high 27 points, while Julius Randle returned from injury with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Mitchell threw everything at the Knicks, scoring 38 points on 14-of-30 shooting with five rebounds, eight assists and three steals.

The Cavs guard scored 10 points in a row for the Knicks during their fourth-quarter charge, where Quentin Grimes' free-throws with 4.1 seconds left sealed the deal.

Celtics first-half flurry sets up win

The Boston Celtics blew away the Atlanta Hawks with 74 first-half points before easing to a 112-99 victory led by Jaylen Brown with 29 points despite a sore hand.

Jayson Tatum scored 21 of his 25 points in the first half where the Celtics led by as much as 32 points, while Derrick White contributed 25 points and 11 rebounds.

The Hawks' shooting letting them down, finishing with five-of-29 from three-point range with Trae Young managing only 16 points on five-of-18 shooting. Dejounte Murray top scored for Atlanta with 24 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

James Harden scored 23 points including seven triples with 13 assists as the Philadelphia 76ers scored a playoffs franchise-record 21 three-pointers in their 121-101 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

James Harden called the "perfect game" according to Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers after leading them to a 121-102 win over the Brooklyn Nets in Game 1 of their playoffs first round series.

Harden starred against his former franchise, scoring 23 points on seven-of-13 three-point shooting with 13 assists.

The Nets put attention into MVP candidate Joel Embiid throughout, restricting him to 26 points, but the 76ers stepped up elsewhere, making a franchise-record 21 three-pointers in a playoff game.

"James, I thought that was one of his best games as a 'catcher' where he was calling the perfect game," Rivers told reporters about Harden.

"He's in shape, he's healthy. He's confident in how we play. Last year, even when he was playing, he was like 'am I doing the right thing here?'. There was a lot of good there."

Rivers pointed out that the 76ers also generated 19 more shots than the Nets (89-70), while Harden acknowledged the Nets' tactics to limit Embiid's tactics but hailed his side's shooting, going at 48.8 per cent from beyond the arc. Fifteen of the 76ers' 21 triples were uncontested.

"I mean, he's the MVP," Harden said of Embiid. "So it's like, would you rather him score 40, or live with us making shots? Either way, it's fine. We'll be ready either way."

Embiid's 26 points came on seven-of-15 field-goal shooting with five rebounds, three assists and two blocks. The MVP contender was full of praise for Harden's impact.

"He's the best playmaker in the league, by far," Embiid said. "But we don't want him settling. I don't want him to fall in love with just that. We need him to be aggressive, and he was today.

"I think that's the key - not just being a playmaker, just being aggressive, going downhill and creating for himself and everyone else."

Reigning world champion Francesco Bagnaia labeled Saturday's display as one of his best in MotoGP after setting a new lap record in qualifying and winning the Grand Prix of the Americas Sprint.

Ducati's Bagnaia claimed pole for Sunday's race at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin with a new course lap record, edging Honda's Alex Lins by 0.160 seconds.

Bagnaia backed that up with the maximum 12 points from the Sprint where he won by 2.545 seconds from Lins, moving within one point of championship leader Marco Bezzecchi in the early season standings.

"It was one of the best days I ever had in MotoGP considering the performance we had during the whole day," Bagnaia said.

"My feeling with the bike is growing and in this track, for the first time I’m feeling great. This morning with used tyres I was feeling okay, so already I understood where to improve.

"But today for the race it was very difficult because the conditions were very hot and it was difficult to stop the bike.

"I was having a lot of locking and sincerely, it was a bit of a problem at the start of the race. But then I was used to it. Tomorrow will be a different story."

Bagnaia's impressive Saturday came after a disappointing performance in Argentina where he finished sixth in the Sprint and down in 16th in the Grand Prix.

"I started well, and tried to push, do my pace, to build up a gap," Bagnaia said. "Now I've got to focus on tomorrow, that's going to be harder."

Bezzecchi, who finished sixth in the COTA Sprint, will start the Grand Prix from fifth on the grid. Lins, who will start from second, was hopeful of an improvement on his Honda on Sunday.

"Let's see, for sure. We have a good bike," Lins said. "The electronic side was not working at 100 per cent, so let's see if tomorrow it works like this.

"The race today was a little fast, so we need to take a little bit more care of the tyres to arrive with a better performance in the end of the race."

Bagnaia smashed the COTA lap record with a flying final effort of 2.01.892, which was the first-ever sub 2.02.00 lap at the course.

That time came after Bagnaia had attempted to shake off Alex Marquez in his outlap after both recorded identical times.

But Marquez crashed on his final attempt, with Bagnaia released to record his 12th MotoGP pole in style. Gresini's Marquez will start from fourth, with Moorey VR46's Luca Marini in third.

Reigning U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick moved into a one-shot lead from Patrick Cantlay at the RBC Heritage with a bogey-free eight-under 63.

Fitzpatrick surged up the leaderboard on the third day at Harbour Town Golf Links with a hole-out eagle from 149 yards out on the par-four third hole.

The 28-year-old Englishman's 63 was a new career-low score, highlighted by four birdies along with the eagle on his front nine 30.

Fitzpatrick leads at 14 under from Cantlay (13 under) and Jordan Spieth (12 under) who carded five-under 66s on the third day.

Cantlay enjoyed a bogey-free round of five under, managing three birdies in four holes on the back nine, while Spieth bogeyed on the par-three 17th, seeing him drop two strokes off the lead.

Halfway leader Jimmy Walker slipped down the leaderboard with a one-over 72, meaning he is tied for fourth at 11 under with Taylor Moore, Mark Hubbard, Tommy Fleetwood and Scottie Scheffler.

Last week's Masters champion Jon Rahm was unable to build on his second-day 64, despite starting with three straight birdies.

Rahm's run stalled with a double bogey on the fourth, eventually carding a two-under 69 to be back at eight-under overall.

Keegan Bradley had the second-best round of the day behind Fitzpatrick, moving to nine-under overall and joint 16th with a bogey-free seven-under 64.

Andrey Rublev is hoping it will be third time lucky in a Masters 1000 final after setting up a title showdown with Holger Rune in Monte Carlo.

The 25-year-old Russian has 12 tournament wins to his name, but all have come at ATP 500 or ATP 250 level, respectable but lower rungs than this tier.

Rublev lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in Monte Carlo in 2021 and to Alexander Zverev in Cincinnati in the same year, as he failed to capitalise on two chances to break his Masters 1000 duck.

Now comes another opportunity on the clay against teenager Rune on Sunday, after both men ground out tough semi-final comeback wins.

Rublev beat Taylor Fritz 5-7 6-1 6-3, while Rune fought back gallantly to overcome Jannik Sinner 1-6 7-5 7-5, with rain delays affected both matches on Saturday.

Rublev is full of appreciation for Rune's game. They met at the last-16 stage of the Australian Open in January, with Rublev winning a marathon clash in a dizzying final-set tie-break.

Their only other previous clash came indoors at the Paris Masters last November, with Rune taking that third-round match in straight sets and going on to win the title as an unseeded player, beating Novak Djokovic in the final.

Rublev said of Rune: "Holger is the guy who runs a lot, and he runs really well. He read the game really well. He's very talented.

"He has a good touch. He doesn't give you any rhythm, because as soon as he has a chance he tries to do drop shots, he tries to hit full power, goes to the net, returns and goes to the net, then serves to the net.

"He doesn't give you rhythm to put pressure on him to play your style."

Rune sees Rublev as a major threat to his prospects of a second title at this level, but the 19-year-old Dane is not short of self-belief.

"I expect for myself to push full. It's the last push, it's the last match of the tournament," Rune said. "Obviously he had three sets as well, so he must be feeling the legs a little bit, I hope.

"It's going to be great. We've played each other twice. It's one-all head to head, so it's going to be interesting, for sure.

"I've just got to stay in the moment, go for it against the best players in the world, and Andrey has been showing that for many years now, he's been top five, six for many years, so I've got to play my best. I've got to take it, because he's not going to give it to me."

Carlo Ancelotti praised the "spectacular" attitude of his Real Madrid side in a 2-0 LaLiga win at Cadiz.

Los Blancos dominated the game at Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla on Saturday, registering more shots than any other team in a LaLiga match this season, with 35 attempts.

Madrid had to wait until Nacho's brilliant finish after 72 minutes to take the lead and Marco Asensio gave them breathing space four minutes later.

Vinicius Junior and Toni Kroos were not risked by Ancelotti ahead of Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg at Chelsea due to muscle strains, while Luka Modric and Eduardo Camavinga came off the bench.

Dani Carvajal and David Alaba were unused substitutes as Madrid prepared for the game at Stamford Bridge, which they will start with a 2-0 aggregate lead, by cutting Barcelona's lead at the top of the table to 10 points.

Madrid head coach Ancelotti said: "The biggest impression for me is how the team played. It was a match well played, at an important point of the season.

"It wasn't easy preparing for it, but the players' attitude was spectacular."

Captain Karim Benzema failed to score despite having nine shots, hitting the crossbar from close range in the first half, but Ancelotti was impressed with the striker's contribution.

He said: "I saw him look so well, so fresh. I told him, 'I'll put you in [the team] and I'll take you off when you get tired'.

"I was a little sad because he didn't score, but it was a pleasure to see him. It was difficult to remove him because I wanted to enjoy watching him."

Ancelotti confirmed forward Vinicius and midfielder Kroos will be fit to face Chelsea in London.

He said: "They are here to play, they have already trained today and they will be at their best for Tuesday."

Christophe Galtier felt Paris Saint-Germain could have delivered a bigger victory after Kylian Mbappe made Ligue 1 history in their 3-1 win over Lens.

The forward became the club's all-time top goalscorer in the competition after he struck in the first half amid a ruthless purple patch at Parc des Princes.

Further goals inside a blistering nine-minute spell for Vitinha and Lionel Messi helped the hosts run rampant against their title rivals, who had Salis Abdul Samed sent off beforehand.

But even with a comfortable result, Galtier felt his side could have delivered a more impressive second-half performance to match the occasion.

"It was important [to get the win]," he told Canal+. It was a pleasure to win. We benefited from the numerical advantage [we had] in the first half.

"[But] as much in the second half, we let ourselves go a little bit. The positions were no longer respected. We should have been more serious. We have them a little hope."

Victory refocused matters for Galtier on the pitch following a week in which he had dominated headlines off it following allegations of racism during his time in charge of Nice.

The coach is taking legal action over the claims which he denies, which stems from an email allegedly sent by former Nice football director Julien Fournier at the end of last season.

PSG have given their unreserved backing to Galtier, and touching on the matter, he thanked fans for their messages of goodwill and solidarity.

"It is important to have a lot of support, both [in] public, but also on a personal level," he added. "It is a great pleasure.

"All the messages that I have received publicly, it warms my heart, as much for me as for my family, my name. All my life I have been enriched by diversity, that's for sure."

Kevin De Bruyne became the second player to reach 100 Premier League assists for one club as the Manchester City playmaker teed up Erling Haaland for the hosts' third goal in a 3-1 win over Leicester City.

The result cut Arsenal's lead to three points at the top of the table, ahead of the Gunners' trip to West Ham on Sunday.

Saturday's games saw Ollie Watkins remain in eye-catching form for Aston Villa, but there were grim home defeats for London giants Chelsea and Tottenham as Brighton and Hove Albion and Bournemouth celebrated impressive victories.

Here Stats Perform, guided by notable Opta match facts, unpicks the finer detail from the day's Premier League action.

Manchester City 3-1 Leicester City: Haaland and De Bruyne star as City keep pressure on

Armed with a 3-0 lead after 25 minutes, Manchester City took their foot off the pedal and Leicester gained a foothold, but the Foxes rarely get much from this fixture. It is 11 wins in their last 13 league games against Leicester now for Pep Guardiola's team, and five wins from as many meetings.

City are on a 10-match winning streak across all competitions, which they have bettered only twice during the Guardiola era, having a run of 21 wins from December 2020 to March 2021, and an 11-game run from August to October in 2017.

Haaland scored twice to take his goals tally to 32 in the top flight, ever closer to the Premier League record of 34 in a single campaign, while De Bruyne's pass that set up the Norway striker's second meant he completed 100 assists for City. Ryan Giggs, with 162 for Manchester United, is the only other player to reach a century of assists for one club in the Premier League.

De Bruyne has now assisted 10 goals for Haaland across all competitions this season, and that is the most assists any one player has had for the young goal machine with a top-flight club, beating Jadon Sancho's nine when he and Haaland were team-mates at Borussia Dortmund in the 2020-21 campaign.

Leicester remain deep in relegation trouble, with the 2015-16 Premier League champions having taken just eight points from 16 games in the competition (W2 D2 L12), losing eight of their past nine.

Aston Villa 3-0 Newcastle United: Watkins and Villa hit half-century marks as Emery revival gathers pace

Aston Villa were hovering precariously closely to the relegation zone when Steven Gerrard was sacked in October. A sensational recovery continued as they steamrollered third-placed Newcastle on Saturday, with their winning run in the Premier League now at five games.

They last reached five wins in a row in the competition on this corresponding weekend 25 years ago, when John Gregory was boss, and Saturday's result means Newcastle's Eddie Howe has lost his last four league clashes with Villa manager Unai Emery, who was previously in charge of Arsenal, by an 11-2 aggregate.

Villa have reached 50 points from 31 games, the earliest they have achieved that tally since they got there in 29 matches in 2009-10, and Watkins has been a key figure in the team's resurgence.

The England striker added to Jacob Ramsey's opener, which came from Watkins' headed assist, by netting a second-half double to take the game away from the Magpies.

Watkins' 50th, 51st and 52nd goal involvements for Villa (39 goals and 13 assists) came in his 102nd Premier League game for the team, with only Christian Benteke (88 games) having reached 50 in fewer games in the competition for the club. Watkins has 12 goals and three assists on Premier League duty since the World Cup, with only Haaland (16) having more goal involvements during this time.

Chelsea 1-2 Brighton and Hove Albion: Seagulls swoop for Stamford Bridge scalp

Brighton substitutes Danny Welbeck and Julio Enciso did the damage, and Chelsea could have no complaints. In terms of expected goals (xG), Brighton bossed this, ending with 2.28 compared to the hosts' 0.60.

After failing to win against Chelsea in 14 Premier League matches, Brighton have done the double this season, having won 4-1 at home in October.

Chelsea's winless run at home in the league now stands at four matches (D2 L2), and that is their worst streak since taking just one point from their final five games at Stamford Bridge in the 2015-16 season.

Only Manchester United (10) have had more goals from substitutes than Brighton (8) in the Premier League this season, and those two sides meet next weekend in the semi-final stage of the FA Cup.

Tottenham 2-3 Bournemouth: Echoes of Balotelli as Outtara stuns Spurs

Tottenham have Aston Villa and Brighton in hot pursuit after this shock reverse, with Dango Ouattara getting Bournemouth's winner four minutes and 11 seconds into stoppage time.

It was the latest winning goal Bournemouth have ever scored in the Premier League, as well as being the second-latest winning goal scored against Spurs by any team on record since 2006-07, after Mario Balotelli's strike for Manchester City in January 2012, which came after four minutes and 39 seconds of added time.

This was Bournemouth's first away league win against Tottenham, after losing on all five previous attempts, and it marked the first time Spurs have lost at home when taking the lead since a 3-2 setback against Southampton in February of last year.

Bournemouth have won five of their last nine Premier League games and have remarkably leapt six points clear of the bottom three, having won just five of their previous 25 matches. Dominic Solanke scored the Cherries' second and provided assists for their two other goals, scoring and assisting in the same Premier League game for the third time this season, with no player having done so on more occasions.

Simone Inzaghi acknowledged Inter must show greater maturity in their Serie A performances after they missed out on a chance to move into the top four with a 1-0 home loss to Monza.

Luca Caldirola's 78th-minute finish was enough to give the visitors an upset victory at San Siro and further extend the Nerazzurri's barren league run.

Inter have collected just one point from five Serie A games, damaging their hopes of Champions League qualification. The defeat saw them fail to capitalise on a draw for city rivals Milan against Bologna earlier on Saturday.

Speaking afterwards, Inzaghi reflected on another tough result for his side, noting he feels they are doing little wrong but must be smart to find answers.

"We got nervous," he told DAZN. "We want this victory, but it is not coming in the league at the moment.

"A mature team must stay in the game. We need to direct the game.

"Now we're talking about a defeat that has slowed down [any chance of momentum]. We have to work on it and not just up front.

"After Lisbon, I was calm. But then, we have seen how it has gone.

"But we lose games that we do not deserve to lose, so we still have to be rational."

With eight top-flight games to go and just a two-point gap to third-place Roma, Inter's top-four hopes are far from over.

In addition, they still have the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie with Benfica to come this week, having taken a 2-0 victory on the road in Portugal.

Inzaghi accepts there is a tough spell ahead, and says both he and Inter must be frank in their self-appraisal if they are to turn matters around.

"We're behind in the league, but we have time to recover, even if these are heavy [blows to take]," he added. 

"This result is not deserved but we need to make more of an impact on games.

"We were the best attacking side in Italy, but now we have difficulties. We have to do a mea culpa, including myself as the coach."

Francesco Bagnaia made it a pole position and sprint race double as Ducati's reigning world champion set the standard ahead of Sunday's MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas.

The 26-year-old Italian crashed at the Argentine Grand Prix last time out in wet conditions but rebounded strongly in Austin with a reminder of the form that brought him last year's title.

He was thoroughly dominant in the sprint, pocketing the 12 points on offer to the winner and moving just one point behind championship leader Marco Bezzecchi in the early season standings.

Honda's Alex Rins took nine points with second place, some 2.545 seconds behind the winner, while third went to Pramac Racing's Jorge Martin who rocketed through the field from 12th on the grid, with Aleix Espargaro taking fourth for Aprilia.

Espargaro had been running second at one stage, while Fabio Quartararo was also showing lively pace before crashing at the first corner with six laps remaining.

Brad Binder took fifth in the sprint, with Bezzecchi sixth as he conceded ground to Bagnaia in the championship, having been nine points ahead heading into this weekend after his maiden race win in Argentina.

Pole position earlier went to Bagnaia in a lap record of two minutes and 1.892 seconds, with Rins an impressive second, ahead of the Mooney VR46 of Luca Marini.

Marini's team-mate Bezzecchi could only take fifth on the grid, with Alex Marquez (Gresini) fourth and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) in sixth spot.

Grid classification

1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) 2:01.892
2. Alex Rins (Honda) +0.160 seconds
3. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46) +0.289
4. Alex Marquez (Gresini) +0.350
5. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46) +0.376
6. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) +0.647
7. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +0.857
8. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) +0.990
9. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +1.170
10. Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM) +1.192

Championship Standings

Riders

1. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46) 54
2. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) 53
3. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) 35
4. Alex Marquez (Gresini) 33
5. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) 32

Teams

1. Mooney VR46 72
2. Pramac Racing 64
3. Ducati 53
4. Red Bull KTM 53
4. Aprilia 50