Real Madrid kept their Champions League title defence alive with a 2-0 win over Chelsea on Tuesday that secured a 4-0 aggregate success in the quarter-finals.

Rodrygo's second-half double helped Los Blancos see off any chance of a Blues comeback at Stamford Bridge to book their semi-final spot.

Frank Lampard's hosts offered an energetic improvement on their performance in the reverse fixture at the Santiago Bernabeu last week.

But their inability to convert chances ultimately left the door open for Carlo Ancelotti's side to make it a comfortable passage to the last four in the end.

Chelsea started with dogged intent, going close when N'Golo Kante sliced a volley wide 11 minutes in.

Madrid did not rest on their own laurels, however, with Rodrygo striking the post almost midway through the first half after he was played smartly into the box.

Luka Modric tested Kepa Arrizabalaga with a powerful shot just past the half-hour mark, while Thibaut Courtois denied Marc Cucurella from six yards after the Blues man found himself in space.

But their best chance arguably fell to Kante just after the restart, his strike off Conor Gallagher's header was blocked at close-range.

That miss allowed Madrid to make the breakthrough instead, with Rodrygo smashing home Vinicius Junior's square return ball in the 58th minute.

His effort took the sting out of the contest, and when the Brazilian added a second in the 80th minute from Federico Valverde's cut-back, it allowed the visitors an easy ride to the finish line.

Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City face a stiff test of character against a Bayern Munich side whose defiance he says is "in their skin".

Although City lead 3-0 from the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final, Guardiola claims his side will on Wednesday be facing a Bayern team who firmly believe they can turn the tie around.

City have looked to have ties wrapped up before and then imploded, most recently in last season's semi-finals when they led Real Madrid 5-3 on aggregate as stoppage time approached in the second leg, only to still be knocked out.

Asked whether he was more confident than before in his group of players getting the job done, Guardiola said on Tuesday: "I would like to say yes, but I don't know. Every game is completely different.

"I didn't say to the team to be careful with Bayern Munich, how difficult they are. They are not relaxed because they felt it, they know it, how good the [Bayern] team is.

"The opponent has many, many weapons, and that's why you have to be yourself. What do you have to do to achieve it? Be ourselves as much as possible."

Guardiola said City were "here for business" and confirmed Phil Foden would be a substitute on his return from appendicitis.

The Catalan coach is on the brink of personal history, being one away from reaching 100 wins in the Champions League, a feat only previously achieved by Carlo Ancelotti (105) and Alex Ferguson (102).

Should be complete that century on Wednesday, it would have come in just 158 games, with Ancelotti having needed 180 games and Ferguson 184.

Guardiola said City had not come to Munich to sit on their lead, but as and when the circumstances demand it, they will dig in defensively.

"I don't understand the situation of coming here just to defend something," said Guardiola, who coached Bayern from 2013 to 2016. "We come here to play one football game. If you think about just the result and what you have to do, or what we have done in the past, it would be a big mistake for us.

"We are going to defend, for sure. It happened in Manchester. For part of the game, they were better, and we had to defend, and we're going to defend tomorrow.

"For us, it's an opportunity. You see the [Bayern] trophy cabinet and how many times they have played this type of game in their incredible history, it is a lot.

"We are a few. We're going to try to impose our game. We come here knowing the quality they have, adapt quick to maybe some new formation of the opponent, and do our game.

"We talk about the game we have to play and not talk about the result we had one week ago. It's what you have to do in the game and focus in every single action to do what you have to do to get the result as best as possible to reach the semi-final."

Guardiola suspects Thomas Tuchel and Bayern will be saying much the same thing.

"I've been here at Bayern Munich and know the mentality of this club," Guardiola said. "It's everywhere: it's in [the club's HQ at] Sabener Strasse, it's in their skin.

"I know they believe they can do it, and we believe, too."

Guardiola expects Bayern's Thomas Muller to start, having only been a substitute in the first leg.

Should that be the case, City captain Ilkay Gundogan will be among those keeping a close eye on the man who can make Bayern tick, whom he knows well from their time together in Germany's midfield.

Gundogan's City future remains in the balance, with his contract expiring at the end of June, and the 32-year-old could offer no guidance on whether he will be staying in Manchester.

"There are talks. Obviously there are talks in the background. That's quite normal with just a couple of months left," Gundogan said. "Before going too much into details, there is nothing decided yet, not from my side and not from the club's side."

The skipper was delighted to hear Guardiola wants him to stay, saying: "I appreciate it a lot. We've been together seven years, and it's been amazing. We've won a lot together and to hear things like that brings me joy, brings me a smile and makes me appreciate what I've done in the seven years."

City have only lost one of their last 20 matches against German teams in the Champions League (W16 D3), losing away to RB Leipzig in the 2021-22 group stage.

They are unbeaten in their nine games against German sides in the knockout stages of the competition (W8 D1), although Bayern have only lost both legs of a Champions League knockout tie twice before, and both times it came against Real Madrid – in the 2013-14 semi-finals and the 2016-17 quarter-finals.

Their heaviest aggregate defeat was in the first of those ties, losing 5-0 against the Spanish side when Guardiola was Bayern head coach.

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz cruised into the third round of the Barcelona Open with a 6-3 6-1 straight sets rout of Nuno Borges.

The world number two thrilled his home crowd with a ruthless performance against his Portuguese opponent to reach the last 16, converting five break points along the way.

Alcaraz will be joined in the next round by third seed Casper Ruud, after the Norweigian overcame American Ben Shelton in a 6-2 7-6 (7-1) victory.

Roberto Bautista Agut will not join them, however, after he suffered a 6-2 6-2 loss to Bernabe Zapata Miralles.

At the BMW Open, Dominic Thiem set up a second-round clash with Marc-Andrea Husler after receiving a walkover against Constant Lestienne.

The 2020 US Open winner had been leading 6-3 when the match was abandoned at 0-0 in the second set, as fifth seed Sebastian Baez slipped to a 6-3 7-5 loss against home favourite Oscar Otte in Munich.

Shohei Ohtani helped his Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing streak on Sunday, igniting a 5-4 road win against the Boston Red Sox.

Ohtani started on the mound at Fenway Park, giving up one run while striking out three batters across the opening two innings. 

He also collected a base hit in the first frame, and followed it with another single in the second, before rain arrived and forced a weather delay.

With his arm cooling down during the lengthy break, Ohtani was replaced by Tucker Davidson upon resumption, but the five runs the Angels put up in the first two innings proved to be enough.

The catalyst for their bright offensive start was Hunter Renfroe, connecting on a three-run homer with the game's fourth at-bat. Renfroe then added his fourth RBI of the contest an inning later with a ground-out.

Red Sox star Rafael Devers tried to ignite a late comeback in the bottom of the ninth, with his RBI single bridging the gap to 5-4 while runners remained on first and second base with one out, but Rob Refsnyder and Masataka Yoshida could not muster a hit from either of the final two at-bats.

After the win, Angels manager Phil Nevin said the team would discuss moving up Ohtani's next start due to his limited workload this time out.

Rangers pitch combined one-hitter 

There was an injury scare for Texas Rangers ace Jacob deGrom, but it could not sour their terrific 4-0 shutout of the Kansas City Royals.

DeGrom was withdrawn after four innings of work with what the team called a precaution due to wrist soreness, but he held the Royals hit-less during those four innings, and the bullpen only allowed one hit the rest of the way.

Dane Dunning came in and tossed four innings in relief, allowing one hit and one walk in a great showing, while the bulk of the offensive damage was done by a three-run homer from Josh Jung in the first inning.

It was Jung's third home run of the season, and team-mate Marcus Semien joined him with three for the campaign after a solo homer of his own.

Rays keep home run streak alive in loss

The Tampa Bay Rays suffered a disappointing 8-1 road defeat at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds, but not before keeping their historic home run streak alive.

The Rays were down 8-0 in the last inning when Josh Lowe hit a consolation home run, but with it, he marked the 17th consecutive game Tampa have hit a home run in to start the season.

Tampa Bay slipped to a still league-leading 14-3 record with the loss, but they are now just three games with a home run away from tying the 2019 Seattle Mariners for the longest streak to start a season in MLB history.

Frank Lampard's start to life back at Chelsea has not gone according to plan.

The Blues have lost all three of their games under Lampard, who was appointed on an interim basis earlier in April following Graham Potter's dismissal.

That run included a 2-0 defeat at Real Madrid in the first leg of a Champions League quarter-final tie, with Los Blancos heading to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday with a club record in their sights.

Tuesday's other game sees Serie A leaders Napoli go up against Milan, who lead 1-0 from the first leg of that all-Italian encounter.

With the help of Opta numbers, Stats Perform previews the first two Champions League matches of the week.

 

Chelsea v Real Madrid: Los Blancos hunting sixth straight knockout win

Madrid have won their last five Champions League knockout matches, their joint-longest winning run in knockout games in the competition.

All five wins have come against English teams, with only Barcelona (seven in a row between 2014 and 2016) having a longer winning run against English clubs.

Karim Benzema scored Madrid's opener in last week's 2-0 win at Santiago Bernabeu. The striker's last 11 Champions League goals have come against English teams, while his last 14 have all been in the knockout stages of the competition, the longest such run by a player in Champions League history. Benzema has 14 goals and two assists for Madrid in his last nine appearances in the knockout stages.

Madrid's second was teed up by Vinicius Junior, who has been involved in 20 goals in his last 20 Champions League appearances, scoring 10 goals and assisting 10 goals in this time. Since the start of last season, the Brazil winger is the only player to reach double figures for both goals and assists in the competition.

Madrid have progressed from 18 of their 19 Champions League ties after winning the first leg by two or more goals, failing only in 2003-04 against Monaco in the quarter-finals.

Chelsea do have some hope, however. They have progressed from five of their last seven Champions League ties when losing the first leg away from home, and done so in each of the last two when losing by two clear goals (vs Napoli in 2011-12 and Paris Saint-Germain in 2013-14).

The Blues have lost two of their last three European matches against Madrid (W1), both in Champions League quarter-finals across the last two campaigns. They had not lost any of their first five against them before this (W3 D2).

 

Napoli v Milan: Serie A leaders out to avoid third Rossoneri reverse

Napoli have already lost twice to Milan in April, losing 4-0 in Serie A at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium and 1-0 at San Siro in the first leg of this tie. The last side to beat them three times in one season was Lazio in the 1994-95 campaign.

The omens are good for Milan, who have won their last three away matches against Napoli, all in Serie A, their joint longest away winning run against them. 

Milan have not reached the Champions League semi-finals since the 2006-07 season, when they went on to win the competition. They have only been eliminated twice after winning the first leg of a knockout tie – in 2003-04 v Deportivo de La Coruna in the quarter-final (4-1 first leg, 0-4 second leg) and 2012-13 v Barcelona in the last 16 (2-0 first leg, 0-4 second leg).

Napoli are, however, unbeaten in their last 12 home Champions League matches (W9 D3) since a 4-2 defeat to Manchester City in November 2017. They have won their four home games this season, scoring at least three goals in each victory.

That being said, Napoli have been eliminated from their last 10 European knockout ties after losing the first leg, last progressing to the next round after suffering a first-leg deficit in the 1988-89 UEFA Cup quarter-final against Juventus.

Olivier Giroud could be crucial for Milan. The veteran campaigner has been directly involved in six goals in nine appearances in the Champions League this season (four goals and two assists) – the most by a Milan player in a single campaign since Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the 2011-12 campaign (nine – five goals and four assists).

Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr has been rewarded for his spectacular shot-blocking season by being named the 2022-23 Defensive Player of the Year.

The first of the NBA's annual regular season awards was announced on Monday prior to Game 2 between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Brooklyn Nets, with more to follow in coming days.

Jackson, 23, was drafted fourth overall by the Grizzlies in the 2018 NBA Draft as an 18-year-old, showing a rare skill-set during his time at Michigan State.

Standing at six-foot-10 with a seven-foot-five wingspan, Jackson was the only player in all of college basketball during his draft year to average at least three blocks per game and a made three-pointer per game.

He struggled mightily with foul trouble early in his professional career – leading the league in fouls per game in each of his first two seasons – but after injuries derailed his third campaign, he returned in his fourth season as a new player.

In the 2021-22 season he began to fulfil the potential he promised on the defensive end, playing a career-high 78 regular season fixtures while leading the league in blocks per game (2.3) for the first time. 

Entering this campaign as the reigning blocks king, Jackson took things a step further, posting a career-high 3.0 blocks per game while boasting one of the gaudiest block rates of all time.

While Jackson was on the floor, he blocked 9.58 per cent of all opponent shots – the seventh-highest rate of all-time – and an even higher figure than Myles Turner's 8.85 per cent when he averaged 3.4 blocks per game in the 2020-21 season.

Among full-time starters, no player in the NBA this season boasted a better individual defensive rating than Jackson's 106.6, turning the Grizzlies into the league's best defense during his minutes on the court.

Meanwhile, during the 19 games Jackson has missed this season, the Grizzlies' defensive rating of 114.8 would rank them 21st, between the Charlotte Hornets and the Washington Wizards.

While it does not go into consideration for his Defensive Player of the Year award, Jackson also had a career-best season on the offensive end, scoring a career-high 18.6 points per game while averaging career highs in field-goal makes (6.6), field-goal percentage (50.6) and free-throw makes (3.8).

He is currently in the first year of a four-year, $105million extension – which has turned into a bargain deal due to his rapid ascension into fringe All-NBA status.

Also receiving votes were Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez, Cleveland Cavaliers second-year star Evan Mobley and Golden State Warriors future Hall-of-Famer Draymond Green.

Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota both scored twice as Liverpool returned to winning ways in the Premier League with a 6-1 hammering of Leeds United on Monday.

Jurgen Klopp's side had not tasted victory in any competition since the March 5 thrashing of Manchester United but ended a five-game winless streak at their relegation-threatened hosts.

Liverpool took control through a quickfire first-half double from Cody Gakpo and Salah, although Luis Sinisterra pulled one back two minutes into the second half at Elland Road.

There was to be no dramatic turnaround as a Jota brace, either side of Salah's second, made sure of three points that moved the Reds to within six of Europa League qualification, before Darwin Nunez completed the scoring off the bench.

Leeds should have taken the lead against the run of play when Rodrigo headed a glorious seventh-minute chance straight at Alisson from Jack Harrison's free-kick.

But Liverpool were in front when Trent Alexander-Arnold dispossessed Junior Firpo before playing a one-two with Salah and teeing up a simple Gakpo finish for the 35th-minute opener.

Salah doubled Liverpool's lead just four minutes later with a rasping drive past Illan Meslier after Jota's delicate offload.

An Ibrahima Konate mistake allowed Sinisterra to race through and chip Alisson, but Leeds' momentum was soon halted when Curtis Jones found Jota to curl past the onrushing Meslier.

Brenden Aaronson struck the upright with a whipped long-range attempt, before a selfless Gakpo pass rolled in Salah for a cool left-footed finish into the bottom-left corner.

Jota found the same corner from Jordan Henderson's pass, with Nunez then capping the rout by latching onto Alexander Arnold's dinked ball and dispatching past Meslier.

What does it mean? Reds atone for away struggles with much-needed win

Klopp's side had recorded just 13 points in their 15 Premier League away games this season prior to this trip, but Leeds remains a happy hunting ground for the Reds.

Liverpool have not lost any of their last six league visits to Elland Road, dating back to a 4-3 defeat in November 2000 when Mark Viduka scored all four Leeds goals.

While out of the running for any silverware this term, Klopp will want his team to produce similar away performances across the remainder of the season as they bid for European qualification.  

Super Salah

This has been a slightly quiet season for Salah compared to his usual lofty standards, having scored 13 times in 29 league outings before this clash, but the Liverpool man again came to the fore against Leeds.

The forward has scored nine times against Leeds in the Premier League, with no Reds player managing more – only Gordon Hodgson can match that tally in Liverpool's entire league history.

Leeds defensive woes continue

Leeds were thrashed 5-1 at home by Crystal Palace last time out and have now shipped 16 goals in their four league games in April, more than any other team this month.

The Whites' defensive struggles continued here, although they may have felt aggrieved with Gakpo's opener after it appeared Alexander-Arnold handled when dispossessing Firpo in the build-up.

What's next?

Liverpool host strugglers Nottingham Forest on Saturday, when Leeds visit Fulham.

Simon Kjaer is relishing being back in the knockout stages of the Champions League, as Milan aim to secure a semi-final spot.

Milan hold a 1-0 lead from the first leg, having last reached the Champions League semi-finals in the 2006-07 campaign.

They have only been eliminated twice after winning the first leg of a knockout tie, though have kept a clean sheet in their last five Champions League matches, the best run by a side since Manchester City in the 2020-21 season.

The Rossoneri have beaten Napoli twice in April, though overcoming the Serie A leaders at home will be no easy task.

For Kjaer, he is revelling in having another shot at playing in the latter stages of UEFA's flagship club competition.

"We are very happy to be here, we deserved this chance and last time we were in this stadium, it went well, so we hope to repeat it," Kjaer said in a press conference.

"You never know when this opportunity will come around again.

"These are evenings that stay with you for the rest of your life, whether good or bad. This is why we play football.

"The other night at San Siro was one of the best experiences of my career with our fans. It will be different tomorrow, but it gives you a sensation that you cannot find anywhere else."

Napoli's star striker Victor Osimhen returned from an adductor injury on Saturday, though could not help Luciano Spalletti's team beat Verona.

Even if Osimhen is fit to start on Tuesday, Kjaer does not hold any fear.

"We will meet Osimhen, just as we do other strikers," he said. "It is never just the work for one defender, it is teamwork and respect."

Stefano Pioli echoed Kjaer's sentiment when it comes to Osimhen, who has netted 25 goals this season.

"He is such a powerful, impressive and decisive striker, so we take his characteristics into account, but at the same time we have our own way of playing football and we won’t move away from that," said Pioli.

"We saw with previous Napoli games that a lot of it is about knowing the moment to slow down and speed up, and that is even more crucial with a player like Osimhen."

Devon Conway made a blistering half-century as Chennai Super Kings beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by eight runs in an Indian Premier League thriller on Monday.

Conway blasted top scored with 83 off 45 balls as CSK posted 226-6 in the southern derby at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, where Shivam Dube (52 from 27) also made a half-century.

A brutal onslaught from Glenn Maxwell (76 off 36) and Faf du Plessis (62 from 33) had RCB scenting an incredible victory, but they came up just short on 218-8 as CSK secured a third win.

Conway and Ajinkya Rahane (37) laid the platform for CSK by putting on 74 for the second wicket in quick time before the latter was bowled by Wanindu Hasaranga.

The in-form Conway faced only 31 balls to make it back-to-back half-centuries but missed out on three figures when he was cleaned up by Harshal Patel.

Dube and Moeen Ali ensured the runs continued to flow, before Virat Kohli fell in the first over of the run chase.

RCB were 15-2 when Maxwell joined Du Plessis in the middle and they produced an incredible exhibition of clean striking to put the game in the balance.

Their 126-run partnership was a franchise record for the third wicket and came in just over 10 overs, Maxwell blasting eight sixes and his skipper striking four.

Maheesh Theekshana was guilty of two of CSK's four dropped catches, but he removed Maxwell and Ali dismissed Du Plessis.

Dinesh Karthik (28) and Suyash Prabhudessai kept RCB in the hunt, but Tushar Deshpande took 3-45 as the Super Kings took the derby honours.

 

Conway leads the way

New Zealand opener Conway took the RCB attack to all parts, following his 50 against Rajasthan Royals with another explosive knock.

The left-hander struck six sixes and as many fours, laying the platform for a big CSK total.

As many as 72 per cent of Conway's runs came from boundaries in what was his fifth IPL half-century.

Du Plessis and Maxwell go berserk

They were certainly not queueing up to bowl when Du Plessis and Maxwell were cutting loose.

Du Plessis took over from Venkatesh Iyer as the leading run-scorer in the tournament with 259 at an average of 64.75, while Maxwell's explosive half-century was his second of the IPL season.

Jalen Hurts has been rewarded with a massive, record-breaking contract extension two months after leading the Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl.

The Eagles announced on Monday that Hurts has agreed to a five-year extension through the 2028 season.

No financial terms were given, but it is reportedly for $255million with $179m in guaranteed money, including $110m fully guaranteed at signing.

The deal, which includes a no-trade clause, makes the 24-year-old Hurts the highest-paid player in NFL history.

A second-round pick by the Eagles in the 2020 draft, Hurts is coming off his second full season as their starting quarterback, helping lead the franchise to a 14-3 record and an appearance in the Super Bowl.

Although Philadelphia suffered a 38-35 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Hurts played well, completing 71.1 per cent of his 38 attempts for 304 yards with a touchdown for a 103.4 passer rating.

This came after he passed for 3,701 yards with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions for a 101.5 QB rating in 15 regular-season games to earn his first Pro Bowl selection.

The dual-threat quarterback is also one of the league's best at making plays with his legs, as he scored 13 touchdowns on the ground this past season – the second-most rushing TDs by a QB in a single season in NFL history.

With 760 rushing yards in 2022, he joined the Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen and the Arizona Cardinals' Kyler Murray as the only quarterbacks in NFL history with at least 3,500 passing yards and 750 rushing yards in a single season.

Pep Guardiola hailed Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne's "special connection" after their eighth Premier League goal combination of the season.

The pair were key once again as City beat lowly Leicester City 3-1 on Saturday.

Haaland scored twice to take his goal tally in the league to 32, matching Mohamed Salah's record for a 38-game season. 

His second goal came when he latched onto a precise De Bruyne throughball, marking the eighth time the Belgium international has teed up a Haaland strike in the top flight this term.

That is one off the joint record of nine, shared by Tottenham duo Harry Kane and Son Heung-min and ex-Liverpool forwards Stan Collymore and Robbie Fowler.

"I think the connection between Erling and Kevin is obvious," Guardiola said. "I think Kevin needs the runners to do his biggest quality.

"Erling needs an assist player to make his positive runs. It's a natural way. We talk a lot about 'take a look at him when he runs and put the ball there'.

"When the ball is correct, and he has this space, he is unstoppable. We know it. But they have a special connection and you can see this.

"But what I like about that second goal is Kevin won the duel. I love that. He won the duel and after that, the run and finish from Erling was fantastic."

De Bruyne's eight assists to Haaland is three more than any other Premier League player has managed to a team-mate this term, with Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes having set up Marcus Rashford on five occasions.

Victory over Leicester, combined with Arsenal's 2-2 draw against West Ham, means City are just four points off the Gunners with a game in hand.

The title rivals will meet on April 26, in what looks set to be the decisive clash.

Kylian Mbappe took sole ownership of another piece of Paris Saint-Germain history on Saturday when he scored against Lens.

Mbappe's goal was his 139th for the club in Ligue 1, moving beyond former team-mate Edinson Cavani for a PSG record.

As with the all-competitions record, which was Cavani's until Mbappe passed him at the start of last month, it is an honour that has changed hands with some regularity in recent seasons.

Before Zlatan Ibrahimovic, nobody had scored 100 top-flight goals for PSG, with Mustapha Dahleb's tally of 85 the benchmark prior to the QSI era.

But Ibrahimovic overtook Dahleb and was then himself overtaken by Cavani. Now, Mbappe is the history man, and it appears highly unlikely that will change any time soon.

Neymar – seven years Mbappe's senior and regularly plagued by injuries – is his nearest rival in the current squad, having scored 82 goals in 112 games.

Mbappe needed 169 Ligue 1 matches to pass Cavani's goals total of 138, which he amassed over exactly 200 league games for PSG. As a result, the France World Cup winner has averaged a goal every 98 minutes versus every 109 minutes for Cavani.

The game against Lens saw Mbappe net in a 98th different Ligue 1 match for PSG, and the 24-year-old will surely continue to score for as long as he remains in Paris.

While Cavani's 138 goals almost exactly matched his 137.8 expected goals, Mbappe has outperformed his xG in all seasons but his first at the club.

 

A player of such talent still at such a young age, there are no Ligue 1 high marks that look beyond Mbappe.

Marco Verratti has won a record eight titles, but his PSG colleague is not far behind on five. Delio Onnis' overall Ligue 1 goals record stands at 299, unbroken since the 1980s yet well within Mbappe's reach.

However, would either of those two impressive feats change a great deal for Mbappe? His remarkable rate of scoring since joining PSG has already proven there is nothing he cannot do in Ligue 1.

Mbappe's legacy will instead be forged outside of France, as it has been so far. He won Russia 2018 as a 19-year-old, by that stage a back-to-back Ligue 1 champion with two different clubs.

Subsequent frustrations have centred on PSG's failed Champions League exploits. In France, even when PSG have ceded the title, there have been no doubts about Mbappe's status at the top of the game.

At this stage, goals at World Cups – he already has 12 – and in Champions League finals will mean far more to this superstar striker than adding another to his record PSG tallies.

 

It is the reason why doubts remain around Mbappe's future after this season's latest limp European exit against Bayern Munich.

Surely already PSG's greatest ever player, Real Madrid and the rest will justifiably believe they can give a generational talent the platform he requires to tick off the rest of the items on his bucket list away from the French capital.

No doubt that means another close-season of speculation then – and even Mbappe might struggle to chase down Onnis before May.

Erik ten Hag had hoped his Manchester United team would kill off Nottingham Forest earlier than they did as they ran out 2-0 victors at the City Ground on Sunday.

Antony put the Red Devils ahead in the first-half, but United struggled to find a way past Keylor Navas again until Diogo Dalot grabbed a second in the 76th minute.

United ended the game with an expected goals rate (xG) of 3.49, and ultimately secured three points to leapfrog Newcastle United into third place in the Premier League.

"A solid performance. A well deserved win. The only criticism I could say, it had to be higher, the score. It had to be 3-0 or 4-0. We missed a lot of chances there," Ten Hag told Sky Sports after the game.

"You want to score and finish and kill the game in the early moments. That's always important. In big games you don't create so many chances, so you have to score them.

"We need more goalscorers and I'm happy with Antony. He scored a goal, gave an assist. His start in the game wasn't that good... But after he came into the game and he was continually a threat for the opponent."

United were without top scorer Marcus Rashford through injury, as well as defensive pair Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez after both suffered knocks in Thursday's 2-2 Europa League quarter-final first leg draw with Sevilla.

 

To add to Ten Hag's issues, Marcel Sabitzer was forced to pull out of the game after being injured in the warm-up on Sunday, and was replaced by Christian Eriksen.

It may have even been a benefit for Ten Hag, with the midfield trio of Casemiro, Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes winning 15 of their 17 matches started together at the club, drawing the other two.

"Sabitzer came off in the warm-up, he felt something. We decided not to take the risk, we will find out tomorrow what it is," the Red Devils' manager explained to BBC Sport. "But when you have Eriksen on the bench, it is definitely not a disadvantage.

"Last week I had nine fit top defenders, now I have four. We need all our players, we are still in three competitions, we need all the players to form a top team."

Dalot celebrated with notable enthusiasm when he made it 2-0 after running onto a pass from Antony and finishing calmly, and he explained to the BBC: "It was a release of emotions, more than the goal it was the moment of the goal, we needed it to be more comfortable.

"One-nil up with 10 minutes to go, it's going to be a war, so it came at the right moment."

Rajasthan Royals retained their place at the top of the IPL points table with a remarkable backs-to-the-wall run chase to beat Gujarat Titans by three wickets.

The winners of Sunday's match would lead the competition through five rounds, with the big-scoring Royals in command coming into this meeting.

But their hopes of protecting that position were hit by the early wickets of openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler in reply to 177-7.

Shubman Gill (45) and David Miller (46) had led the Titans to that strong total, meaning Rajasthan required an improbable turnaround after losing their two leading scorers and initially struggling to get going thereafter

Captain Sanju Samson stepped up with a swift 60, though, and Shimron Hetmyer got them over the line despite a fine bowling performance from Mohammad Shami, who added to the dismissal of Buttler with two more late wickets.

Hetmyer crucially remained in the middle and completed the comeback with his fifth six to finish on 56 off 26, with the Royals 179-7 with four balls remaining.

Titans take out Rajasthan openers

Jaiswal and Buttler opened together for the fourth time this year, aiming to build on the success of those previous three matches, all of which ended in Rajasthan victories. Buttler made fifties in each of those matches, with Jaiswal joining him on two occasions, too.

But both batters were out before the end of the third over, a wicket maiden for Shami (3-25) that reduced the Royals to 4-2. At that stage, it seemed the Titans had halted the reply before it had even got going.

Royals rally to another big score

Even with Jaiswal and Buttler contributing only a run between them, the Royals retained some spectacular batting power. They have scored 175 or more in every one of their five matches this year, showing the scale of the task for any opponent looking to take them out of the game.

Juventus suffered a second successive Serie A defeat as Gregoire Defrel's fine finish saw Sassuolo win 1-0 on Sunday.

Three days on from beating Sporting CP 1-0 in the Europa League, Juve turned in a tired display at Mapei Stadium, as Sassuolo dented the Bianconeri's Champions League qualification hopes.

Defrel's 64th-minute goal had been coming, with Massimiliano Allegri's team having lived a charmed life at the back while offering little going forward.

Juve found some spark late on, with Adrien Rabiot denied by Andrea Consigli and Angel Di Maria squandering a golden chance, but Sassuolo held firm to beat Juve at home in the league for the first time since October 2015.

Sassuolo carved out the only chance of a muted first half, but Nedim Bajrami failed to keep his shot down from a tight angle.

Danilo should have done better with a near-post header shortly after the restart, though Juve needed stand-in goalkeeper Mattia Perin to thwart Sassuolo soon after.

Having tipped a curling Maxime Lopez shot wide, Perin pulled off a fantastic save from Defrel's close-range header.

Perin could only stand and watch as Federico Gatti headed against the woodwork just after the hour, Juve coming away unscathed after the defender's awful attempt at a clearance.

Yet the pressure eventually told – Defrel arrowing in a brilliant finish on the spin after Nicolo Fagioli's dreadful clearance fell his way.

Juve finally sparked into life, with Rabiot's header forcing Consigli into a superb save before substitute Di Maria blazed over as the visitors' comeback attempts proved fruitless, with Paul Pogba's late cameo from the bench unable to inspire an equaliser.

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.