Marnus Labuschagne put down a marker for the Ashes, capitalising after being dropped on 11 to record a mammoth century and advance Glamorgan’s push for victory over Yorkshire.

A diving Finlay Bean got two hands to the ball but could not cling on at backward point, preventing a boundary and reprieving Labuschagne on the third morning of the LV= Insurance County Championship game.

There was no second chance as Labuschagne spectacularly went through the gears to record 170 not out off 207 balls in Glamorgan’s 352 for four declared, leaving Yorkshire 492 to claim an unlikely victory.

Leicestershire chased down 389 at Headingley on the final day last month to down Yorkshire, whose task will be to avoid a second defeat in four Division Two matches this season. They were helped in this endeavour as rain wiped out the last session after their depleted bowling line-up was put to the sword.

Sam Northeast (66) and Sheffield-born Billy Root (51no) put on 148 and an unbroken 130 with Labuschagne, whose contribution to this fixture has been a weighty 235 runs and he will be hoping to have a similar impact on his next visit to the ground for Australia in two months’ time.

He resumed on seven not out – with Glamorgan 196 ahead and eight second-innings wickets in hand – alongside a scoreless Northeast, with the outside edges of the pair frequently challenged early on.

Mickey Edwards was a handful but it was fellow seamer Jordan Thompson who created an opportunity, tempting Labuschagne into flashing at a short and wide delivery, with the ball darting to Bean.

Had a very difficult chance stuck, Yorkshire might have fashioned a route back into a contest where they have been behind the eight-ball for long spells but Bean’s parry gave Labuschagne a life.

Labuschagne had earlier gotten off and running with a sublime cover drive off compatriot Edwards although it was not all one-way traffic as the Yorkshire seamer, bowling with good pace, looked to exploit some early movement.

Gradually, though, Labuschagne started to find his feet alongside Northeast with Yorkshire a bowler down because of Ben Coad’s groin injury. It was for the most part a sleepy opening stanza with the visiting batters largely content to tick over as they brought up their half-centuries.

Only when Dom Bess was brought on just before lunch did Labuschagne cast off the shackles, reverse sweeping the off-spinner twice then lapping him over his shoulder for three fours in an over. It was a testing day for Bess, who leaked 76 in 10 chastening overs.

Either side of Northeast falling to his favoured cut shot off Thompson, Labuschagne hit Edwards out of the attack after lunch. There were five fours in the space of six balls, with Labuschagne backing away and agriculturally muscling across the line as the ball was dispatched to all parts.

Kiran Carlson nicked off to Matthew Fisher, who then left Labuschagne on his knees on 97 with a blow to the midsection. Labuschagne showed no sign of the issue bothering him as a cute dab off Thompson for his 17th four brought up a 142-ball hundred – his first three-figure score of the domestic campaign.

His second fifty was completed in just 38 balls and he continued to accelerate alongside Root, the younger brother of Yorkshire and England star Joe who needed just 68 balls to reach his fifty.

Labuschagne continued to toy with Bess upon his reintroduction to the firing line, taking 58 runs off the 41 balls he faced from the former Somerset bowler, including a towering straight six to go with his 24 fours in his innings.

Yorkshire, having taken only two wickets in as many sessions, were put out of their misery with Glamorgan’s lead approaching 500 but showers brought an early end to the day.

Andy Murray guaranteed a return to the top 50 with victory over Harold Mayot to reach the final of the ATP Challenger event in Aix-en-Provence.

The Scot, currently ranked 52, took a late wild card into the second-tier tournament after losing in the first round of the Madrid Open and has made the most of the opportunity with four victories in a row.

They have all come against French players, and Murray comfortably brushed aside 21-year-old Mayot, ranked 241, 7-5 6-1 to set up a finale against American Tommy Paul.

One consequence of the decision to extend the clay-court Masters events in Madrid and Rome to two weeks each has been the strong Challenger fields this week, with Paul a top-20 player and Australian Open semi-finalist in January.

Murray has certainly gained in confidence through the week and pulled well clear with a run of seven games in a row, Mayot bowing to the pressure being exerted on him by double-faulting to give away the opening set.

Finishing off matches has at times been a struggle for Murray in recent years and he wobbled slightly, missing two match points at 5-0 before finally taking his fifth opportunity to clinch it.

It is Murray’s second final of the season after the ATP Tour event in Doha in February, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev.

The Scot is bidding for his first title since Antwerp in 2019, while, should he beat Paul, he would claim his first trophy at Challenger level for 18 years.

He would also climb to just outside the top 40, which would be a major boost to his hopes of being seeded for Wimbledon.

Frank Lampard marked his 100th game in Premier League management by picking up his first points since returning to Chelsea thanks to two late goals in a 3-1 victory at Bournemouth.

Strikes from Benoit Badiashile and Joao Felix in the final eight minutes at Vitality Stadium earned the Blues a first success in almost two months to halt their six-game losing streak under interim boss Lampard.

The west London club looked like they would have to settle for a draw on the south coast after Cherries defender Matias Vina cancelled out Conor Gallagher’s early header.

Bournemouth also had the better of the chances before the late drama, with Dango Ouattara squandering a golden opening by heading over from inside the six-yard box.

Yet Badiashile and Felix punished that profligacy, leaving visiting fans to salute the overdue triumph with ironic chants of “we are staying up”.

Victory in Dorset moved the two-time European champions on to 42 points, three ahead of their hosts, albeit they remain in the bottom half of the table.

For Lampard personally, it was a first victory in 17 matches including his Everton days and his first with Chelsea in 832 days dating back to a 3-1 FA Cup success over Luton in January 2021 during his initial spell as manager.

The former Blues and England midfielder opted for five changes following Tuesday’s tame 3-1 defeat at Arsenal, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Raheem Sterling among those dropped, while the Cherries were unchanged from the 4-1 thrashing of Leeds.

Gary O’Neil’s in-form hosts began brighter but after Jefferson Lerma, who scored twice last weekend, curled narrowly wide, Chelsea snatched a ninth-minute lead.

Trevoh Chalobah’s pass afforded N’Golo Kante time and space to deliver an inviting cross from the right wing and recalled midfielder Gallagher beat Adam Smith to the ball to divert a simple, close-range header beyond goalkeeper Neto.

Chelsea supporters responded to the early breakthrough with self-deprecating chants about avoiding relegation and “we’ve scored a goal” after seeing their side net for only the third time in nine outings.

Yet they were not ahead for long.

Uruguay left-back Vina claimed the 21st-minute equaliser, delightfully curling home via the right post from just inside the Blues’ 18-yard box following slick interplay involving Ryan Christie and Dominic Solanke.

The Roma loanee’s eye-catching leveller prompted calls of “sign him up” from home supporters, in addition to light-hearted taunts of “you’re going down with the scummers” directed at the away end and referencing local rivals Southampton.

While Chelsea have endured a torrid season under their American owners, Bournemouth have gone from strength to strength since Texas businessman Bill Foley completed his takeover in December.

O’Neil’s men, who won six of their previous nine fixtures to banish relegation fears, remained relatively comfortable for the rest of the half, with Chelsea short of ideas and looking toothless in attack.

The away team continued to monopolise the ball following the restart but the lack of creativity persisted.

At the other end, Badiashile turned behind Ouattara’s dangerous low cross while lively winger Christie rippled the side-netting.

Lampard, who suffered league and Carabao Cup defeats on this ground with Everton earlier this season, then saw his side survive a VAR check for a possible penalty when Thiago Silva slid in on Solanke before Vina was denied a second when his shot was pushed wide by Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Ouattara should have given Bournemouth the lead 11 minutes from time when he somehow nodded over unmarked after Lerma headed a Lewis Cook corner back across goal.

That miss proved pivotal as Chelsea grabbed the three points with quick-fire goals in the closing stages.

Former Monaco defender Badiashile restored the Blues’ advantage in the 82nd minute, connecting with Hakim Ziyech’s searching free-kick into the box to volley beyond Neto and claim his first goal for the club.

Belated joy for Lampard was secured four minutes later as Felix put the result beyond doubt with a first-time finish after fellow substitute Sterling burst into the box and slipped the ball to his right.

Ross County picked up what could be a vital three points in their fight to avoid relegation with a 2-0 victory over Livingston.

Going into the weekend four points adrift at the bottom of the table, County knew they could not afford to lose against Livi and goals in either half from Alex Iacovitti and Alex Samuel secured a valuable win.

Livingston finished the match with 10 men after substitute Kurtis Guthrie was dismissed following a VAR review with eight minutes to go.

The stakes involved for the Staggies perhaps had an impact on how they started the match, as it was the visitors who did most of the probing.

Certainly it was Livingston who had more possession across the opening 20 minutes, but without much substance as Ross Laidlaw in the home goal barely got a touch of the ball.

Slowly, County then started to find something of a rhythm.

Some neat footwork from Victor Loturi just inside Livingston’s box beat his man, but his low cross was cleared off the line by Morgan Boyes.

Bruce Anderson – County’s conqueror the last time these two met in Dingwall – fashioned a shooting opportunity for himself at the edge of the box in response, but could only clip the side-netting.

Simon Murray then should have scored for the hosts when he met Yan Dhanda’s cross at the back post, only for a combination of Nicky Devlin and the woodwprk to deny him.

However, a similar ball from Dhanda five minutes before half-time led to the breakthrough, as Iacovitti made the most of being totally unmarked to head into the far corner.

County would then make it 2-0 on the hour mark.

Just beforehand, manager Malky Mackay made a triple substitution that involved Samuel coming on, and he would score his first goal for the club.

Again it was Dhanda who provided the assist, crossing for the Welshman to open his account over 20 months after moving to Dingwall – and having spent 10 months on the sidelines with a cruciate injury.

While that gave County a comfortable lead on the scoreboard, things would go from bad to worse for the visitors in Dingwall in the 82nd minute.

Guthrie, not long introduced as a substitute himself, was initially shown a yellow card for catching Keith Watson in the face, but on review by VAR it was upgraded to a red for violent conduct.

That meant it was a comfortable end to the match for County, who closed the gap at the bottom to a single point with results elsewhere.

Motherwell took a significant step towards securing cinch Premiership football for another season with a 2-0 home win over Kilmarnock, who remain immersed in relegation danger.

Blair Spittal’s fourth-minute strike and a late second from Kevin van Veen lifted Stuart Kettlewell’s side nine points clear of their vanquished opponents – and with a vastly superior goal difference – with just four games left of the season.

The defeat leaves Kilmarnock in 11th spot in the table and only now a point ahead of bottom side Ross County following the Dingwall side’s victory over Livingston.

Motherwell made just one change from the team that had drawn at Celtic, Mikael Mandron replacing Harry Paton.

There were two changes to the Kilmarnock team that won at St Mirren as out went Kyle Vassell and Lewis Mayo to be replaced by Joe Wright and Scott Robinson.

The home side went ahead with the first real chance of the game after four minutes. Sean Goss sent James Furlong clear down the left and his cutback was finished well by Spittal.

Kilmarnock responded with a Robinson shot that slid past the near post after Christian Doidge had played him in.

Spittal then nearly had his second of the game only to see his effort deflected wide for a corner. The forward took the set-play himself, finding Calum Slattery outside the box whose low driven shot was again diverted wide.

Both teams seemed intent on attacking and Danny Armstrong was unfortunate to see his free-kick beat the wall but strike the outside of the Motherwell post.

Motherwell continued to pursue a second goal and, from Paul McGinn’s deep cross, Mandron somehow headed over the bar from close range.

Van Veen is likely to be a contender when the Player of the Year nominations are shortly announced and the Dutch striker showed his class again with a back-heeled pass to set up Spittal. The former Ross County player cut inside and got his shot away only for Sam Walker to save with his legs.

Van Veen then created a chance for himself but once again the goalkeeper proved equal to it, Walker making a fine save to keep his side in the contest before looking alert to grab Dan Casey’s attempted lob.

McGinn ought to have made the game safe late on but somehow struck the post with the goal at his mercy, the ball then falling kindly into Walker’s arms.

However, Van Veen fared much better in stoppage time as he calmly slotted in his 25th goal of the season to net for a seventh game in succession.

St Johnstone took a huge step towards securing cinch Premiership safety with a hard-fought 1-0 win over 10-man Dundee United at McDiarmid Park.

Saints captain Liam Gordon scored the opener just before the break, while United had Charlie Mulgrew sent off for bringing down Melker Hallberg as he went through on goal.

The Perth side’s first win since February and their first home victory since November sees them move five points clear of danger, while the visitors – who hit the goalframe through Steven Fletcher in stoppage time – remain just a point above Ross County as their three-game winning streak came to an end.

St Johnstone interim boss Steven MacLean had made three changes following his side’s 1-1 draw with Hibernian, with James Brown, Hallberg and Graham Carey all coming in to start.

United manager Jim Goodwin named an unchanged side for a third straight match.

Spurred on by a raucous away support, the visitors started brightly and they had four shots blocked in the first two minutes in a frantic opening to the game.

Fletcher then stung the palms of Remi Matthews in the 12th minute before Ian Harkes headed straight at the home goalkeeper when well placed.

United were dominant and they almost took the lead in the 21st minute when Ilmari Niskanen was released by Harkes but his shot was deflected wide as he opted to chop back inside.

St Johnstone eventually came to life around the half-hour mark and United keeper Mark Birighitti was forced to get down low to keep out Adam Montgomery’s cross that had flicked off Loick Oyina.

Birighitti then produced an even better save moments later to tip over Carey’s rising angled shot from just inside the box.

Despite their slow start Saints were now in the ascendancy, and they took a crucial lead two minutes before the break.

After United failed to clear a long throw-in, Stevie May’s miskick landed kindly at the feet of Gordon, who was able to steer the ball in off a post from eight yards out.

The second half was a fairly even contest before a moment of drama on the hour mark saw the away side reduced to 10 men.

Hallberg latched on to Carey’s neat ball over the top and he got his toe to the ball before Mulgrew, who appeared to catch the midfielder with an outstretched boot.

Despite the tackle occurring out wide, referee Alan Muir wasted no time in issuing the red card, with Mulgrew adjudged to have been the last man.

After an open first half, the game became far cagier after the red card, with United struggling to create and the hosts content to hold onto their lead.

Daniel Phillips and Drey Wright both had sights of goal from just outside the box but neither troubled Birighitti.

Saints could have put the game to bed with five minutes to go as Zak Rudden laid the ball off to fellow substitute Theo Bair, who sidefooted over from just inside the box, while Carey also tested Birighitti with a shot from a tight angle.

There was very nearly a late twist deep into stoppage time as Fletcher met Rory Macleod’s cross with a sweetly timed left-footed volley, but it cannoned off the angle of post and bar as Saints held on to secure three priceless points.

Ilkay Gundogan scored twice but missed a penalty as Manchester City survived a late scare to maintain their title charge with a 2-1 win over relegation-threatened Leeds.

The German midfielder swept home from the edge of the area in the 19th and 27th minutes at the Etihad Stadium to put the champions on course for what seemed a comfortable victory at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

City then spurned a host of chances, with Erling Haaland twice hitting the woodwork and Gundogan being denied by goalkeeper Joel Robles, before Rodrigo gave Leeds late hope in Sam Allardyce’s first match in charge.

The hosts held on for a victory that lifts them four points clear of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League, with both sides having four games remaining, but manager Pep Guardiola will be concerned it was not emphatically closed out.

Such was their dominance, City had all but reduced the game to walking pace before Rodrigo changed the picture in the 85th minute.

Allardyce, who made four changes including bringing in Robles for Illan Meslier, will at least take encouragement from that, although for the majority of the game Leeds were comprehensively outplayed.

City started strongly and there was little surprise when the opener came after 19 minutes, with Guardiola’s side having already threatened numerous times.

Kevin De Bruyne had a shot blocked, Julian Alvarez fired over and Haaland was denied by Robles before Gundogan passed into the bottom corner from the edge of the area after Riyad Mahrez cut inside.

Mahrez himself then shot narrowly over before Leeds-born Haaland uncharacteristically blasted wide after Gundogan pinged the ball into the area and De Bruyne teed up the striker with a brilliant lay-off.

With Leeds clearly struggling, a second goal seemed inevitable and it arrived in similar fashion to the first as Mahrez cut inside and found Gundogan 18 yards out once again. This time the German picked the opposite corner as he clipped the ball into the net.

Leeds did have a chance when a Weston McKennie header forced Ederson to save, but the visitors were fortunate not to concede again before the break.

Haaland again spared them when he miskicked in front of goal, Alvarez had an effort cleared off the line and Phil Foden volleyed narrowly over with the final kick of the first half.

Haaland hit the woodwork twice after the break, first heading against the bar following a set-piece and then striking the base of a post on the turn after Rico Lewis threaded him through.

City seemed to be cruising and Gundogan looked likely to wrap up the game by completing his treble when Haaland handed him the ball after Foden was felled by Pascal Struijk.

Yet Robles guessed correctly to save and Rodrigo set alarm bells ringing when he pounced on a Manuel Akanji error to pull one back late on.

City needed to regroup, but avoided any further scares.

Elie Youan and Will Fish were on target in the first half as Hibernian boosted their European qualification hopes with a hard-fought 2-1 win at home to St Mirren.

The Easter Road side were well worth their two-goal lead at the break but Saints pulled one back through Alex Greive and cranked up the pressure as they tried to find an equaliser in the closing stages.

The victory took fifth-placed Hibs three points clear of their opponents and to within a point of city rivals Hearts.

Hibs manager Lee Johnson listed the same team that started the 1-1 draw against St Johnstone a fortnight previously.

Saints boss Stephen Robinson made three changes to the side that lost 2-0 to Kilmarnock before the split as Declan Gallagher, Greive and Greg Kiltie replaced Joe Shaughnessy, Tony Watt and Keanu Baccus.

The hosts got off to the perfect start when Buddies defender Marcus Fraser was dispossessed by Youan as he tried to control a throw-in from Charles Dunne and the French forward ran clear to slot beyond the exposed Trevor Carson.

The visitors’ first opportunity came after 11 minutes but captain Mark O’Hara screwed a half-volley narrowly over from just inside the box.

Hibs doubled their lead in the 23rd minute when on-loan Manchester United defender Fish pounced to head home his third goal in 12 matches from eight yards after Joe Newell’s corner bounced up in front of him.

The Edinburgh side were forced into a change in the 29th minute when Jake Doyle-Hayes went off with a head knock and was replaced by Josh Campbell.

Kevin Nisbet then threatened for the hosts with a shot from the edge of the box that tested Carson before Saints wing-back Ryan Strain saw a firm strike held by David Marshall at the other end.

Hibs had two good chances in the space of a few minutes towards the end of the first half, with Chris Cadden desperately close to knocking in a Nisbet cross before Campbell fired over the bar from six yards after a Cadden shot rebounded off Carson.

The Edinburgh side should have had a third goal in the 56th minute after a lovely flowing move allowed Cadden to cross into the box for Nisbet but the striker blazed over from six yards.

St Mirren got themselves back in the game in the 64th minute with a ‘route one’ goal when Curtis Main flicked on Carson’s goal kick and Greive raced clear to drill the ball past Marshall.

Harry Kane’s first-half header helped Tottenham earn a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace that keeps alive their faint Europa League hopes.

Kane’s 28th goal of the season in all competitions settled a drab contest and also moved him ahead of Wayne Rooney into outright second on the Premier League’s all-time leading scorer list with 209 goals.

It was enough for Ryan Mason to secure a first victory in his second spell in charge of Spurs, who have jumped up to sixth but seventh-placed Brighton have three games in hand and are only two points off the London club.

While most eyes pre-match were on the coronation of the King, Tottenham sprung a royal surprise with their line-up.

Emerson Royal started and Yves Bissouma was on the bench despite both being sidelined with injuries that were expected to keep them out for another couple of weeks, while Eric Dier was dropped with the hosts in a 4-3-3 system.

Palace were unchanged having won four of their six fixtures under Roy Hodgson, who had given opposite number Mason his solitary England cap in 2015.

Given both clubs were involved in seven-goal thrillers last weekend, action aplenty was anticipated but the majority of the first half was played at a subdued pace.

Cristian Romero hit the crossbar with a near-post header from Pedro Porro’s 17th-minute corner before Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg fired over on the turn from Kane’s pass but Spurs were experiencing teething problems in their new system.

When Joachim Andersen scooped over for Palace under pressure from Ben Davies, it seemed the opening 45 would end goalless – but Kane had other ideas.

Spurs’ stand-in captain sprayed the ball out wide to Porro, who whipped in a wonderful cross for Kane to head home.

It moved the England skipper above Rooney into outright second amongst the Premier League’s record goalscorers, where Alan Shearer sets the pace on 260.

Kane’s goal helped increase the intensity from the two teams after half-time and Eberechi Eze dragged a shot wide for the visitors early into the second period after fine work by Wilfried Zaha, who had clipped over minutes before.

Spurs responded with Porro firing well off target when Son Heung-min was in space, but Zaha’s influence started to grow.

Zaha turned Emerson inside out before his cross deflected onto the roof of Fraser Forster’s net and Tottenham’s back-up goalkeeper saved well from Cheick Doucoure on the hour mark.

After Tottenham had weathered the Palace storm, Mason’s side went in search of a second and Porro looked the most likely scorer for the hosts.

The January recruit tested Sam Johnstone with a firm effort from the right before his free-kick from the touchline sailed inches wide.

Son should have wrapped the game up soon after when Romero’s excellent pass sent the Spurs attacker through but Johnstone stood up well to save his low effort.

Tempers boiled over late on and referee Darren England handed out nine yellow cards in total but Tottenham held on to end their four-match winless run and keep a first clean sheet since February 26.

Harry Kane’s first-half header helped Tottenham earn a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace that keeps alive their faint Europa League hopes.

Kane’s 28th goal of the season in all competitions settled a drab contest and also moved him ahead of Wayne Rooney into outright second on the Premier League’s all-time leading scorer list with 209 goals.

It was enough for Ryan Mason to secure a first victory in his second spell in charge of Spurs, who have jumped up to sixth but seventh-placed Brighton have three games in hand and are only two points off the London club.

While most eyes pre-match were on the coronation of the King, Tottenham sprung a royal surprise with their line-up.

Emerson Royal started and Yves Bissouma was on the bench despite both being sidelined with injuries that were expected to keep them out for another couple of weeks, while Eric Dier was dropped with the hosts in a 4-3-3 system.

Palace were unchanged having won four of their six fixtures under Roy Hodgson, who had given opposite number Mason his solitary England cap in 2015.

Given both clubs were involved in seven-goal thrillers last weekend, action aplenty was anticipated but the majority of the first half was played at a subdued pace.

Cristian Romero hit the crossbar with a near-post header from Pedro Porro’s 17th-minute corner before Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg fired over on the turn from Kane’s pass but Spurs were experiencing teething problems in their new system.

When Joachim Andersen scooped over for Palace under pressure from Ben Davies, it seemed the opening 45 would end goalless – but Kane had other ideas.

Spurs’ stand-in captain sprayed the ball out wide to Porro, who whipped in a wonderful cross for Kane to head home.

It moved the England skipper above Rooney into outright second amongst the Premier League’s record goalscorers, where Alan Shearer sets the pace on 260.

Kane’s goal helped increase the intensity from the two teams after half-time and Eberechi Eze dragged a shot wide for the visitors early into the second period after fine work by Wilfried Zaha, who had clipped over minutes before.

Spurs responded with Porro firing well off target when Son Heung-min was in space, but Zaha’s influence started to grow.

Zaha turned Emerson inside out before his cross deflected onto the roof of Fraser Forster’s net and Tottenham’s back-up goalkeeper saved well from Cheick Doucoure on the hour mark.

After Tottenham had weathered the Palace storm, Mason’s side went in search of a second and Porro looked the most likely scorer for the hosts.

The January recruit tested Sam Johnstone with a firm effort from the right before his free-kick from the touchline sailed inches wide.

Son should have wrapped the game up soon after when Romero’s excellent pass sent the Spurs attacker through but Johnstone stood up well to save his low effort.

Tempers boiled over late on and referee Darren England handed out nine yellow cards in total but Tottenham held on to end their four-match winless run and keep a first clean sheet since February 26.

Resilient Wolves edged derby rivals Aston Villa 1-0 to end any lingering fears of relegation from the Premier League.

Toti Gomes’ first Wolves goal secured a fourth straight home win and leave them 10 points clear of the Premier League relegation zone.

It would now take a staggering set of results to send Wolves, who are 13th, down on 40 points.

Villa’s European hopes suffered a potentially fatal blow as it leaves them eighth, a point behind Brighton – who they host on the final day – having played three games more.

That they were even in European contention remains a tribute to the work Unai Emery has done since replacing Steven Gerrard in October.

Villa do at least face Tottenham, Liverpool and the Seagulls – those immediately above them – in their final three games but any hopes of Europe are fading.

Smarting from the 6-0 thumping at Brighton last week, Wolves’ heaviest league defeat in 16 years, the hosts went to remedy the result early.

Villa actually enjoyed a brighter start in the opening exchanges but it was Wolves who grabbed a ninth-minute winner.

Ruben Neves was forced to wait to take his corner but when he did the midfielder picked out Toti to crash in a header off the bar from 12 yards – just his second career goal.

Villa, who lost a 10-game unbeaten run with a 1-0 defeat at Manchester United last weekend, responded with Jose Sa turning Emi Buendia’s strike wide.

The visitors remained the aggressors but lacked the sharpness which had propelled them up the league since Emery’s arrival. It allowed Wolves to remain comfortable at the back, despite Villa dominating possession.

Slowly, though, Emery’s side began to find space and Ollie Watkins’ acrobatic effort dropped wide. It was a warning for Wolves and they escaped again soon after when Jacob Ramsey’s cross dropped for Watkins seven yards out but the striker could only head straight at Sa.

Wolves’ organisation and concentration was crucial and Craig Dawson was alert to halt Buendia as Villa probed for a leveller but there was still the occasional gap for the hosts to exploit.

Just before the break Costa teed up Matheus Cunha to plant a half volley over from the edge of the box then, less than two minutes after the re-start, Pedro Neto found Costa who was denied by Emi Martinez.

Chasing four successive top-flight home wins for the first time since 1975 Wolves at least begun the second half with more attacking purpose having spent the majority of the first frustrating Villa.

Ashley Young swept a shot wide but Villa could not find the same spaces as before and needed Matheus Nunes to get in a tangle in front of goal from Neto’s cross not to concede a second.

But, with 19 minutes remaining, the visitors blew their best chance to grab a point when Douglas Luiz’s free kick dropped for Mings six yards out, only for the defender to volley over.

Andy Murray guaranteed a return to the top 50 with victory over Harold Mayot to reach the final of the ATP Challenger event in Aix-en-Provence.

The Scot, currently ranked 52, took a late wild card into the second-tier tournament after losing in the first round of the Madrid Open and has made the most of the opportunity with four victories in a row.

They have all come against French players, and Murray comfortably brushed aside 21-year-old Mayot, ranked 241, 7-5 6-1 to set up a finale against American Tommy Paul.

One consequence of the decision to extend the clay-court Masters events in Madrid and Rome to two weeks each has been the strong Challenger fields this week, with Paul a top-20 player and Australian Open semi-finalist in January.

Murray has certainly gained in confidence through the week and pulled well clear with a run of seven games in a row, Mayot bowing to the pressure being exerted on him by double-faulting to give away the opening set.

Finishing off matches has at times been a struggle for Murray in recent years and he wobbled slightly, missing two match points at 5-0 before finally taking his fifth opportunity to clinch it.

It is Murray’s second final of the season after the ATP Tour event in Doha in February, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev.

The Scot is bidding for his first title since Antwerp in 2019, while, should he beat Paul, he would claim his first trophy at Challenger level for 18 years.

He would also climb to just outside the top 40, which would be a major boost to his hopes of being seeded for Wimbledon.

Former world eventing champion Ros Canter is on course for a first Badminton Horse Trials title after the dressage phase.

Lincolnshire-based Canter, who won the world crown in North Carolina five years ago, leads on Lordships Graffalo.

A score of 22.1 penalties edged 2016 Rio Olympian Kitty King and Vendredi Biats into second place overnight, but just 1.5 penalties separate the top five combinations.

And the chasing pack includes two Olympic team gold medallists in Oliver Townend and Tom McEwen, who lie third and fifth respectively aboard Swallow Springs and Toledo De Kerser.

Canter and Lordships Graffalo finished second behind Laura Collett and London 52 at Badminton last year, but 37-year-old Canter now has an outstanding chance of claiming the £105,000 top prize.

Sunday’s demanding cross-country phase will be pivotal – steady rain and testing conditions saw organisers make late alterations to five of the fences – while it all concludes with the showjumping phase on Monday.

“I can’t ask for more than that,” Canter said, reflecting on her dressage test. “If the crowd had stamped their feet, he would have danced even more – that’s why he is so great.

“I have never ridden in these conditions (at five-star level). It will be a case of looking after the horse, riding what is under me and attacking.”

Townend, meanwhile, also has his 2017 Burghley winner Ballaghmor Class in the mix, keeping alive a possibility of finishing first and second, which was last achieved at Badminton 35 years ago by Scotsman Ian Stark.