Scottie Scheffler made a superb start to the third round of the Masters to extend his lead to six shots on Saturday.

The mission for the chasing pack was clear going into moving day at Augusta National: chase down the world number one, who ended day two with a five-stroke lead.

But Scheffler, seeking his first major title, made that task even harder with four birdies on the front nine.

After saving par at a tricky first hole, Scheffler produced a stunning second shot at the 575-yard second to put him on the edge of the green.

He chipped to four feet to set up a simple birdie, which was followed by another gain at the third following a superb approach shot to eight feet to move to 10 under par.

A dropped shot at the fourth gave hope to his prospective challengers, but that stroke was clawed back courtesy of an excellent 17-foot putt at the sixth.

He chipped to six feet for another gain at the eighth to improve to 11 under, with a par at the ninth leaving Cameron Smith as his closest challenger at five under through 12.

Antonio Conte hailed the killer instinct of his bloodthirsty Tottenham front three after a clinical 4-0 win at Aston Villa boosted hopes of Champions League football next season.

Son Heung-min hit a hat-trick, taking him to 17 Premier League goals for the season, and winger Dejan Kulusevski was also on target at Villa Park.

Harry Kane had two assists, meanwhile, as Tottenham's front three ran Villa ragged in the second half.

Son has the most goals in the Premier League this season when penalties are removed from the count, given none of his strikes have been spot-kicks. Mohamed Salah's league-leading 20-goal haul includes five penalties.

Villa finished the game with a higher expected goals figure than Tottenham, 1.71 to Spurs' 1.02. That reflected the golden chances Villa spurned, particularly in the first half when Danny Ings, Ollie Watkins and Philippe Coutinho all threatened.

The statistic also spoke of Tottenham's ability to sniff a half chance and snatch a goal, which is something that delights Conte.

Earlier defeats for Arsenal and Manchester United meant Tottenham had a great opportunity to tighten their grip on fourth place, and Conte said: "We have to look to ourselves. I said this to our players: a strong team, a big team, doesn't depend on the others.

"We have to understand the moment when you have to kill your opponent. Today was an important moment, especially because of other results. It was good for us, but it was good because we won. If you don't win, the result of the other teams is not useful.

"The players know very well what I said. The winner has to feel when there is blood, the blood of your opponent, and then you have to kill your opponent.

"I think we are working very hard in many aspects. I'm lucky because I have a group of players that deserve the best because they show me great commitment, great behaviour every day.

"They want to improve, and to get these kind of results in a short time makes me very happy because I know that they are very happy."

Tottenham have won six of their last seven games in the Premier League, after a previous rocky spell of results.

They have seven games remaining, including a big derby against Arsenal next month and a trip to title hopefuls Liverpool.

Tottenham appear to be growing all the time, and being able to set aside a sketchy opening 45 minutes, when Son's early goal gave them a lead they scarcely deserved by the break, showed a particular quality that pleased Conte.

Son, Kane and Kulusevski were unaffected by the battering Tottenham had taken, and came out for the second half determined to stamp a greater mark on the game.

"I think that the task of the coach is to try to exploit the characteristic of the players, to put the players in the best situation," Conte told Sky Sports.

"I think this formation is sweet for the characteristics of these players, and it is working very well. We're starting to work about the details. This is very important because don't forget that I arrived in November, not in pre-season. I think we have grown in an important way, and now we're showing that it's tough to play against us."

Son also spoke of the dynamic between the front three. Since Kulusevski's Premier League debut on February 9, only Kane (13) and Son (12) have been involved in more goals in the competition than the former Juventus winger (nine), taking all teams into account.

"It's all about understanding," said Son. "The first time we played together it wasn't perfect. We're still not perfect, but we improve every single day and enjoy playing together."

Kylian Mbappe and Neymar scored hat-tricks as Paris Saint-Germain brought an emphatic end to their poor away form with a resounding 6-1 victory at Clermont in Ligue 1. 

Neymar and Mbappe struck in the opening 19 minutes as PSG ended a run of four straight losses on the road in all competitions and moved 15 points clear at the summit.

Jodel Dossou pulled one back for Clermont but Neymar scored from the spot and then set up Mbappe three minutes later as Mauricio Pochettino's men showed their teeth in the closing stages.

Mbappe completed his hat-trick with 10 minutes remaining and then returned the favour for Neymar, teeing him up for his third as PSG stayed on track for the title.

The visitors took the lead in controversial circumstances, Neymar's goal being allowed to stand despite Alidu Seidu being prone in the box after having his foot stepped on by Mbappe. 

Lionel Messi controlled Neymar's pass on his chest and volleyed a throughball in behind for Mbappe to poke past Arthur Desmas, but Clermont grew into the game and halved the deficit through Dossou before half-time.

Messi had a goal disallowed for offside before Mbappe was felled by Akim Zedadka in the box and Neymar slotted home the resulting spot-kick with the utmost composure in the 71st minute 

A magnificent outside-of-the-boot throughball over the top from Neymar set Mbappe on his way to his second and the France star made it three with a powerful finish from the edge of the box.

Mbappe then raced onto a pass from Georginio Wijnaldum and squared across the face of goal for Neymar to round off the scoring with 83 minutes played.

What does it mean? PSG close in on title 

With Rennes moving level on points with Marseille in second earlier on Saturday, PSG could find themselves a point away from reclaiming their Ligue 1 crown by the end of next weekend. 

Victory over Marseille at the Parc des Princes combined with Rennes losing to Monaco would leave them 18 points clear with just six games to play. 

Magical Messi-Mbappe link-up 

His first season at PSG has not quite lived up to expectations, but Messi was at his creative best against Clermont. The Argentina captain has now combined with Mbappe for eight goals in Ligue 1 this season.

Full-backs switch off 

Achraf Hakimi was caught in possession ahead of Clermont's goal and Dossou's run to the back post was not tracked by Nuno Mendes. Neither will be pleased with their role in PSG failing to keep an away clean sheet in Ligue 1 for the first time since October. 

What's next? 

PSG have Le Classique against Marseille to look forward to next Sunday, when Clermont will hope to boost their survival hopes at 19th-placed Metz. 

Real Madrid secured victory against Getafe at the Santiago Bernabeu to restore their 12-point lead at the top of LaLiga on Saturday.

It was a relatively comfortable evening's work for Madrid, with Casemiro's first-half header and Lucas Vazquez's second-half finish sealing a 2-0 win.

Madrid controlled the game from start to finish, and Carlo Ancelotti was even able to save the legs of some of his key players.

The coach made four changes from the midweek Champions League win against Chelsea, resting Dani Carvajal, Ferland Mendy, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric with one eye on the quarter-final second leg.

Stamford Bridge hat-trick hero Karim Benzema remained in the line-up and had the ball in the net inside four minutes after a long pass from David Alaba fell kindly to him, only to see the flag go up for offside.

Madrid dominated the early stages but struggled to create chances, with Federico Valverde coming closest with a volley from a Benzema cross, forcing a tremendous save from David Soria.

The deadlock was broken in the 38th minute after Vinicius Junior put in a delightful cross with the outside of his right foot for Casemiro to head in at the far post.

The hosts knocked on the door for another soon after the break, with Valverde again going close with a free-kick from range.

But Madrid were made to wait until the 68th minute when Vazquez played a neat one-two on the right with Rodrygo before placing the ball with his left foot into the far corner of the net.

The visitors showed a brief glimpse of fight at the end, with Enes Unal hitting the post with an effort in the 90th minute, but it was merely a minor scare for the league leaders.

Juventus came from behind to solidify their grip on a top-four spot and keep their Scudetto hopes alive with a 2-1 Serie A win at Cagliari.

Massimiliano Allegri has consistently rebuffed talk of Juve joining an absorbing three-way title race, but the Bianconeri are now just five points behind leaders Milan – albeit having played a game more – after victory in Sardinia.

Allegri's men were in danger of suffering a setback when Joao Pedro gave Cagliari an unexpected early lead and Luca Pellegrini then saw a goal controversially disallowed.

However, Juve pulled off a turnaround thanks to Matthijs de Ligt's leveller and Dusan Vlahovic's 75th-minute winner.

Relegation-threatened Cagliari had lost their previous four league games but took the lead in the 10th minute through Joao Pedro's sublime strike.

Paulo Dybala was dispossessed in midfield by Razvan Marin, who surged down the right and laid the ball off for Joao Pedro to steer it into the top-left corner.

Juve appeared to have levelled when Pellegrini's left-footed drive deflected beyond Alessio Cragno, but the visitors were left incensed as the goal was ruled out by the VAR for handball, with the ball striking Adrien Rabiot's elbow on its way in.

The Bianconeri continued to pepper the Cagliari goal, though, and their reward finally came on the stroke of half-time.

Juan Cuadrado saw a long-range effort turned behind, but the same man delivered a deft cross following the subsequent corner, with De Ligt arriving to power a header into the bottom-left corner.

Giorgio Chiellini had a goal ruled out for offside soon after the restart and Dybala fired over on the half-volley before later teeing up Cuadrado to shoot narrowly wide of the far post.

Juve's luck was finally in 15 minutes from the end of normal time as Vlahovic, having moments earlier been denied by Cragno, saw Giorgio Altare's attempted interception of Dybala's throughball deflect off his leg and beyond the unfortunate Cagliari goalkeeper. 

David Goffin is wary he will face "a great fighter" when he tackles Alex Molcan in Sunday's final of the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakesh.

Experienced Belgian Goffin is a five-time tournament winner on the ATP Tour, and his Slovakian opponent is chasing his first title at this level.

However, their one past meeting went Molcan's way when they met in the Melbourne ATP 250 tournament in January, and although that match was on hardcourts and this final is on clay, Goffin respects his left-handed opponent's game.

Goffin made sure of his place in the title match with a 6-3 6-3 win over Argentinian Federico Coria, while Molcan, who beat Felix Auger-Aliassime earlier in the week, was a 6-1 7-5 victor against Serbian Laslo Djere.

Speaking of the threat posed by Molcan, Goffin said: "He's a great fighter, he's moving so well. He's lefty, so he's using his lefty game really well on clay, especially two days ago against Felix, he played well. So it's a tough opponent."

Goffin, quoted on the ATP Tour website, said he was pleased to get his clay season under way in fine style, even if he felt jittery at times against Coria.

"I managed to deal with my emotions at the end to finish the match, so I'm happy to play another final, especially here, the first tournament on clay," Goffin said. "I will give everything tomorrow."

Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi was pleased to see his team pick up where they left off after following last week's win in the Derby d'Italia at Juventus with another three points against Hellas Verona on Saturday.

First-half goals from Nicolo Barella and Edin Dzeko sealed a routine 2-0 win for the Nerazzurri, who moved up to second ahead of Napoli and just a point behind city rivals Milan.

It was the first time Inter have won back-to-back Serie A games this year. Indeed, they have done so for the first time since a run of eight league wins between November 2021 and January 2022.

That was what pleased Inzaghi most about the victory, and he told reporters after the game: "It is an important signal to give continuity. It was vital to follow up on the match in Turin.

"We had prepared well for this match because we knew about the strength of Verona, who came from an excellent streak. We played very well in the first half, while in the second we managed the match.

"In the last matches the results had not arrived and the head was heavy, periods like this are understandable."

Despite being the reigning champions, Inzaghi believes he has seen a progression in the team since his arrival.

"When I arrived I was aware of the difficulties, but the club absolutely did not want to give up despite the necessary sacrifices," he added. "Trust in this team has never failed."

The former Lazio boss made changes to his starting line-up, bringing Federico Dimarco in for Alessandro Bastoni, explaining: "Dimarco has very important characteristics and in Naples he had done well, while Bastoni came from a tour de force.

"I have the obligation to make the choices and we evaluated that it was a match in which Dimarco was better placed to play.

Stefan de Vrij was forced off at half-time at San Siro, but Inzaghi insisted it was merely a precaution.

"He has had flexor fatigue and it shouldn't be anything serious," he reassured reporters.

Jan Oblak admitted Atletico Madrid must improve on their performance in defeat to Real Mallorca when they host Manchester City in the Champions League. 

Atletico face City in the second leg of their quarter-final at the Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday, trailing 1-0 from the first game in Manchester. 

They surprisingly lost by the same scoreline to relegation-threatened Mallorca at the Visit Mallorca Estadi on Saturday, with Vedat Muriqi's penalty settling a contest low on quality. 

LaLiga's reigning champions saw their six-game top-flight winning streak end abruptly but remain fourth – three points behind Sevilla in second. 

Oblak was unhappy with the decision to award the penalty after Reinildo was judged to have fouled Pablo Maffeo but conceded the Rojiblancos did not play well enough to win. 

"Things didn't work out today," the Slovenian goalkeeper said after the game. "Mallorca played a good defensive game. It was a difficult game. 

"In the end, with a dry pitch, with sun, with everything, it's complicated. I'm not looking for excuses. We have to do more and better. Today was not enough for the three points. 

"We didn't have [the Champions League game] in mind, but I'm sure the first leg has taken its toll. We've been a bit tired, heavy... We haven't played the game we had to play. Next it's City and we have to do much better to win on Wednesday. 

"Reinildo has also told me that it wasn't [a penalty]. I saw it from behind and it didn't seem like it to me. But if the VAR people don't want to warn him, nothing can be done. I've told the referee that it's not a penalty. Football is a contact sport and it can happen that after clearing the ball you touch someone. 

"The intensity wasn't at the level that it had to be for the whole team. In the end, you lose a game that you didn't have to lose. You can't let the other team play with more enthusiasm. You have to go in wanting to win and take the three points." 

Head coach Diego Simeone also dismissed the notion that his team had one eye on City. 

"We started the game well, but it was costing us," he told reporters. "We were elaborate, generated danger, but defensively they were very good. The penalty made us look to force a draw, but it wasn't to be. 

"It's easy to blame a lack of concentration, but we couldn't break their orderly and correct defense." 

Son Heung-min hit a blistering hat-trick as Tottenham stamped their authority on the race for fourth place with a 4-0 win at Aston Villa.

Boosted by Arsenal's earlier defeat to Brighton, Tottenham moved three points past their north London rivals after a clinical second-half effort at Villa Park showed Antonio Conte's team at their best.

All the momentum, for now, is with Spurs, and they led from the third minute when Son fired in off the left post.

Harry Kane helped to create the second for Dejan Kulusevski and also set up Son to stretch the visitors' lead to 3-0, before Kulusevski fed Son to fire in his third of the game.

Tottenham snatched a fortuitous lead when a wayward Kane strike hit Villa defender Matty Cash and bounced kindly to Son, whose finish in off the left upright was exquisite.

Jacob Ramsey went close to an equaliser after waltzing through the Spurs defence and forcing Hugo Lloris to save well. Lloris pushed away a long-range effort from John McGinn, before Danny Ings failed to make a firm connection on a volley.

Ings then missed Villa's clearest opening of the first half when he bundled wide after Ollie Watkins headed Ramsey's cross into his path.

Villa were to pay for those misses in the second half, with Kulusevski doubling Tottenham's lead with a classy strike across Emiliano Martinez after a headed assist from Kane.

Son made it 3-0 in the 67th minute, with Kane nodding Cristian Romero's long pass into the path of the  forward, who made no mistake after running beyond the Villa defence.

The hat-trick strike came in the 72nd minute when Son played the ball to Kulusevski on the right before making his way infield and finding space just behind the penalty spot to sweep in.

Tottenham were so rampant that Ashley Young resorted to hacking down Kane with a late challenge, leaving the England striker hobbling. Young was booked, as was Kane for a lunge at Leon Bailey in the closing moments, a rare misstep.

Xavi had no issue with Dani Alves' controversial opinion on Erling Haaland's worth, saying he would forgive his former Barcelona team-mate for anything. 

Alves, 38, is back at Barca as a veteran player under Xavi, having featured alongside the coach in hugely successful Blaugrana teams earlier this century. 

Xavi has enjoyed being able to work with his old colleague again, but Barca have their sights set on rather more ambitious signings at the end of this season. 

Borussia Dortmund sensation Haaland has regularly been linked with a move to Camp Nou, although Barca are far from alone in admiring a striker whose contract reportedly includes a €75million release clause. 

However, right-back Alves has claimed Kylian Mbappe – widely expected to join rivals Real Madrid – "is a more complete player than Haaland in all aspects of the game". 

"I wouldn't do crazy things for Haaland," the Brazil defender told Sport. "Honestly, I wouldn't spend a lot of money on him." 

Alves' employers Barca, on the other hand, may well be up for splashing out on the 21-year-old – but that does not mean Xavi was concerned by his player's comments. 

"I forgive Dani everything, anything he says," the Barca boss said at a media conference ahead of Sunday's game against Levante. "He's a phenomenon, really. 

"Sometimes you guys complain that you don't have headlines, right? Well, with Dani, it's hard to choose just one. He is a phenomenon. 

"The truth is that the signing of him has gone very well for us, he is a natural leader. It is a spectacle, both for us and for you." 

On Haaland, Xavi added: "We'll see. Yes, we are planning for next year, but let's see. The situation is not easy, especially financially, economically." 

Whether Barca can afford the type of sums required to both sign and pay Haaland remains to be seen, but Xavi is confident he has the club's backing. 

"[The club] know my priorities," he said. "From here on, whatever we can do, well, we are going to do it, but it is true that we have to be very prudent and very cautious because the economic situation is what it is." 

Inter moved within a point of Serie A leaders Milan with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Hellas Verona.  

Aiming to win back-to-back league games for the first time this year following their Derby d'Italia defeat of Juventus, Inter were relentless in pressuring Verona in the first half.  

Their superiority yielded the desired rewards as goals from Nicolo Barella and Edin Dzeko put them 2-0 up inside 30 minutes.  

Simone Inzaghi's defending champions were never at risk of surrendering that advantage and could go top next week if Milan failed to respond in kind to his impressive performance. 

Lorenzo Montipo was busy from the off, the Verona goalkeeper producing a strong save to deny Ivan Perisic, and his goal was soon breached by an excellent opener from Barella.  

Barella steered Perisic's left-wing cross in off the bar with a superb effort with the outside of his boot.  

Joaquin Correa was then thwarted by Montipo before Perisic flicked a corner into the path of Dzeko to tap in and make it 2-0.  

Samir Handanovic prevented the deficit from being halved after Giovanni Simeone broke through on goal following a neat one-two with Gianluca Caprari.  

Hakan Calhanoglu fired wide from long range and Danilo D'Ambrosio forced another fine save from Montipo before Dzeko blazed a header over, the final score arguably flattering Verona. 
 

What does it mean? Inter avoid stumble in pulsating title race  

Inter went second with a win that never looked in doubt, moving level with Napoli on 66 points and leapfrogging them due to their superior head-to-head record.  

With Napoli hosting Fiorentina and Milan visiting Torino on Sunday, avoiding a slip-up after the derby triumph over Juve was critical, and Inter did so in style.  

Inter make another fast start 

Barella and Dzeko's goals took Inter to 31 first-half goals in as many Serie A games this season, more than any other team in the division. 

Verona wait goes on 

The visitors offered a meek display in keeping with their away record against Inter. Verona have never won in 31 Serie A away games against Inter, the Nerazzurri tied with Juve as the opposition against whom the Gialloblu have played the most matches on their travels without winning. 

What's next?  

Inter travel to Spezia on Friday, while Verona face a trip to Atalanta three days later. 

Gennady Golovkin became the unified middleweight champion after stopping home favourite Ryota Murata in Saitama, Japan.

The Kazakh regained the WBA (super) belt, which he lost to Cancelo Alvarez in 2018, to add to his IBF title following a ninth-round stoppage against the former Olympic champion.

Golovkin endured a slow start in what was his first bout in over a year, as he looked to set up a potential rematch with Alvarez later in 2022.

Murata, who won gold at London 2012, directed a series of relentless attacks and body shots to gain the upper hand in the opening four rounds.

But the Japanese fighter was unable to build on his early momentum and Golovkin gradually settled into his flow in round five.

The pendulum began to swing in favour of the 40-year-old, who finally put combinations together and sent Murata's mouthpiece flying in the sixth.

The Golovkin onslaught continued until the start of the ninth; flooring his opponent with a devastating shot and the towel came in from the corner, spelling the 42nd win of his career.