Fernando Tatis Jr. flexed his muscles as the San Diego Padres crushed rivals the San Francisco Giants 11-1 in MLB action on Sunday.

Tatis launched a 454-foot homer – his ninth of the season – to lead the Padres past the Giants in San Francisco, where San Diego avoided a series sweep in the battle of the National League (NL) West franchises.

Padres star Tatis went deep off Johnny Cueto in the second inning, while team-mate Jake Cronenworth also sent a 445-foot shot to right field in the same frame.

Cronenworth became the fourth Padres player to hit a home run in San Francisco, following in the footsteps of Ryan Klesko (2003), Brian Giles (2008) and Yasmani Grandal (2014).

Chris Paddack pitched three scoreless innings for the visiting Padres before leaving with a 5-0 lead, while Ryan Weather had three shut-out innings.

Elsewhere, the New York Yankees celebrated back-to-back walk-off victories following their 3-2 win over the Washington Nationals.

Giancarlo Stanton was the hero for the Yankees, delivering a game-ending single off Brad Hand in the ninth inning.

 

Ynoa powers Braves past Phillies

Huascar Ynoa won his fourth successive start while also having six hits and six RBI in those games as the Atlanta Braves defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 6-1. Ynoa gave up one run, four hits and one walk while striking out six in six innings. According to Stats Perform, he is the first pitcher to go 4-0 with six-plus hits and six-plus RBI over a four-start span since the New York Mets' Dwight Gooden in 1985.

Jared Walsh hit a two-run double in the third inning to fuel the Los Angeles Angels' 2-1 victory against World Series champions and city rivals the Los Angeles Dodgers.

 

Pearson endures nightmare return

The Toronto Blue Jays finally got to see their top prospect back in action but the rookie pitcher struggled badly in a 7-4 loss to the Houston Astros. Pearson allowed four hits and a career-high five walks in his first start of the season and fifth of his career. He gave up three runs in 2.1 innings of work.

The Mets topped the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-2, however the win was overshadowed by ace Jacob deGrom. In his return to the mound following lat inflammation, DeGrom was pulled after throwing two warm-up pitches before the sixth inning in New York, where the two-time National League (NL) Cy Young Award winner allowed one run while striking out six and giving up one hit over five innings prior to exiting with the trainer.

 

Tucker helps tame Jays

Kyle Tucker hit a three-run homer and tied a career high with four RBI in Houston's success against Toronto. Tucker gave the Astros a 7-0 lead in the fourth inning.

 

 

Sunday's results

Boston Red Sox 4-3 Baltimore Orioles
New York Yankees 3-2 Washington Nationals
New York Mets 4-2 Arizona Diamondbacks
Milwaukee Brewers 2-1 Miami Marlins
Chicago White Sox 9-3 Kansas City Royals
Houston Astros 7-4 Toronto Blue Jays
St Louis Cardinals 2-0 Colorado Rockies
Pittsburgh Pirates 6-5 Chicago Cubs
Texas Rangers 10-2 Seattle Mariners
San Diego Padres 11-1 San Francisco Giants
Los Angeles Angels 2-1 Los Angeles Dodgers
Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 Oakland Athletics
Atlanta Braves 6-1 Philadelphia Phillies
Cincinnati Reds-Cleveland Indians (postponed)
Minnesota Twins-Detroit Tigers (postponed)

 

Red Sox at Orioles

The high-flying Red Sox (22-13), who top the American League (AL) East, will put their four-game winning streak on the line against the lowly Orioles (15-19) on Monday. Boston can seal a four-game sweep as they start with Martin Perez, while Baltimore send Jorge Lopez to the mound.

Real Madrid star Luka Modric is not giving up on winning LaLiga following the defending champions' last-gasp draw at home to Sevilla.

The title is no longer in Madrid's hands after they were held to a 2-2 draw by rivals Sevilla in a gripping contest at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano on Sunday.

Toni Kroos' deflected strike off team-mate Eden Hazard deep into second-half stoppage time salvaged a point for Madrid, who are two points behind leaders Atletico Madrid with three rounds remaining.

Modric, though, insisted Madrid must not lose faith after they crashed out of the Champions League semi-finals.

"We were hoping it would be in our hands, but now it's not going to be like that," Modric said post-match. "We have to focus on our game, not the others and try to win the three we've got left.

"All the teams are dropping points. We have to keep believing."

Ivan Rakitic had seemingly secured Sevilla a win that would have blown the title race wide open by scoring a late penalty, before Madrid equalised at the death.

Sevilla had taken the lead in the first half thanks to Fernando in the Spanish capital, where he opened the scoring in the 22nd minute.

Madrid improved in the second half and levelled through Marco Asensio but a remarkable twist left Los Blancos trailing 2-1 with just over 10 minutes to play.

Zinedine Zidane's Madrid had seemingly earned themselves a chance to go 2-1 up as Karim Benzema led a break and was brought down in the Sevilla box by Yassine Bounou.

But a VAR review overturned the decision because a handball offence by Eder Militao was spotted at the other end at the start of the move, and Rakitic converted the spot-kick that was subsequently awarded to Sevilla.

Modric added: "We've dropped two points, we did everything to win the game. We deserved to win, but we've come away with a point. We played quite well, especially in the second half and created a lot of chances, but we didn't convert them and at the end we were awarded a penalty that ended up being a penalty for the other side.

"I'm not sure if it was a handball or not, I didn't see it. It's unlucky, but we're still very much alive, there are three games left to play and we're going to give our all until the end.
 
"We found it difficult to get into the game in the first half, but were much better in the second half. We did everything we could to get the win.

"It's a shame, but we're still there. I'm physically strong as are the rest of the players. We're looking forward to playing our remaining games and trying to win all three of them."

Madrid have not lost in their last 15 LaLiga games (W10 D5), and they conceded again after keeping a clean sheet in the last four. Only on one previous occasion have they kept five consecutive clean sheets in the competition with Zidane as head coach (in July 2020).

Meanwhile, Madrid have conceded eight penalties in LaLiga this season, their joint-highest tally in a single campaign since at least 2003-04 (also eight in 2018-19).

New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom will undergo an MRI after his comeback from lat inflammation was cut short due to a "different injury" on Sunday.

Having been scratched from Tuesday's scheduled start against the St Louis Cardinals because of inflammation in his right lat, star Mets pitcher DeGrom made his return to the mound in the team's 4-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

DeGrom, however, was pulled after throwing two warm-up pitches before the sixth inning in New York, where the two-time National League (NL) Cy Young Award winner allowed one run while striking out six and giving up one hit over five innings prior to exiting with the trainer.

"He's going for an MRI, just to see what's going on there, to see how he is, have a clear view," said Mets manager Luis Rojas.

"Right-side tightness is what we have from our medical staff here, more so in his lower back area, on the right side. They're taking a look, so once we get the results back, we'll know how he is."

Rojas added: "It's different. It's the right side, but now it's more in the lower back area rather than a little higher than he was with the tightness.

"No pain, just the tightness. That's what he told our trainer. We'll see."

DeGrom improved his record to 3-2 for the season as his ERA rose from an MLB-best 0.51 to 0.68.

Zinedine Zidane was left fuming by the decision to award Sevilla a penalty for handball against Eder Militao as Real Madrid were held to a 2-2 draw that means the title is no longer in their hands.

A gripping game at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano on Sunday came to life in the latter stages as a remarkable twist left Madrid trailing 2-1 with just over 10 minutes to go.

Madrid had seemingly earned themselves a glorious opportunity to go 2-1 up as Karim Benzema led a break and was brought down in the Sevilla box by Yassine Bounou.

But a VAR review overturned the decision because a handball offence by Militao was spotted at the other end at the start of the move, and Ivan Rakitic converted the spot-kick that was subsequently awarded to Sevilla.

While a Toni Kroos effort deep into stoppage time deflected off Eden Hazard to earn a share of the spoils and essentially end Sevilla's slim title hopes, it did Madrid little good as city rivals Atletico remain top with a two-point lead heading into the final three games.

Zidane was seemingly unconvinced by the merits of the penalty against Madrid, suggesting that if Militao – who was not facing the ball when it hit his hand – was guilty of an offence then Sevilla's Joan Jordan should have conceded a penalty earlier in a similar situation.

"I don't understand anything. If there is a Militao handball, there's a Sevilla handball as well," he said.

"I was not convinced by what he [the referee, Juan Martinez Munuera] told me. I never speak about a referee, but today I am angry.

"In the end it is what it is, we are not going to change anything. I'm happy with our game, we deserved more because the second half was spectacular.

"I'm not going to talk about that anymore. We've already talked about it. The referee has to explain the rules to me, but that's it. We're going to fight to the death, until the end."

Pressed on his interpretation of the handball law, Zidane added: "We can talk now… but it will not be clarified now and that is what bothers me.

"We have to think about the three remaining games. I am angry because we deserved the victory."

He was then seemingly encouraged to denounce VAR, though Zidane again pointed to what he felt was handball by Jordan.

"I trust football. What I'm saying is that I saw two hands and they whistled ours."

Mauricio Pochettino has not given up on winning Ligue 1, but conceded Paris Saint-Germain got no less than they deserved against Rennes as their title hopes took a hit following a 1-1 draw.

Neymar celebrated his new four-year deal with PSG by scoring a contentious penalty to put Pochettino's team ahead on Sunday, only for Serhou Guirassy's fine header to seal a point for Rennes.

PSG were in fact lucky not to lose, with Presnel Kimpembe seeing red late on and Keylor Navas pulling out some impressive saves to keep it at 1-1.

The draw leaves PSG three points behind Lille with two games remaining – no team has ever been crowned Ligue 1 champions with such a gap at this stage – and the title may well be wrapped up next week should the capital club drop points against Reims and the leaders beat Saint-Etienne.

Indeed, it is not just the title PSG have to worry about, with their place in the Champions League no certainty.

PSG edged possession (57.8 per cent) against Rennes, but their tally of 12 attempts was seven fewer than the hosts managed, while only four of them were on target – Bruno Genesio's European hopefuls, who were without key midfielders Steven Nzonzi and Eduardo Camavinga, managing 10 in total.

"A lot can still happen, we are disappointed, but we have to give credit to Rennes, who had a very good game," PSG head coach Pochettino in his post-match news conference.

"We have to win the next matches to hope for something. We were not better than Rennes over 90 minutes, we did not deserve to take three points.

"It's a season with a lot of ups and downs, we arrived four months ago to help the club. A club like PSG must always think in the future. Every club thinks of improving, decisions will be made at the end of the season, we always think of improving."

While Neymar toiled, he was not helped by the absence of Kylian Mbappe, who was suspended – albeit he has been struggling with an injury which kept him from featuring against Manchester City in the Champions League midweek as PSG lost in the semi-finals.

Asked if Mbappe's absence was a major factor in the poor performance, Pochettino replied: "We must not think that we did not win because of an absence."

PSG have now failed to keep a clean sheet in their last eight Ligue 1 fixtures, conceding 11 goals in total, making it their longest such run since a streak of 11 top-flight matches back in 2012.

The frustration boiled over heading towards the dying embers, with France centre-back Kimpembe lunging in on Jeremy Doku and receiving a straight red.

"We see frustration with the result, he arrives late. We are professionals, we know our responsibilities, our obligations," Pochettino said.

PSG captain Marquinhos, however, did not hold back.

"We will play what we have left to play. We have a Coupe de France to go for and the championship to continue to put pressure on Lille," he told Canal+.

"We have to go 100 per cent. It is unacceptable to leave points like that when we are Paris Saint-Germain. It can happen once, twice, but it's starting to happen a lot. We have to be sincere, it's not our best season, we weren't very strong. We have to do a lot better at the end of the season."

Andrea Pirlo has no intention of resigning as Juventus head coach after the Bianconeri's hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League suffered a significant blow on Sunday. 

Juve slumped to a resounding 3-0 home defeat to Italian rivals Milan as they slipped to fifth in Serie A with just three league games remaining in the race for the top four.

It was the first time Juve had been beaten at home by the Rossoneri since March 2011, while it marked the first time they had conceded three goals at home to Milan since January 2010. 

Pirlo has endured a dismal first season in charge of Juve after replacing Maurizio Sarri. Not only did they relinquish their nine-season stranglehold on the Serie A title to Inter, but they were dumped out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage by Porto. 

While the decision could yet be taken out of his hands, first-year boss Pirlo insisted he has no plans to step down from his role.

"No, I won't step aside," he told Sky Sport Italia. "I took this role with a great deal of enthusiasm amid certain difficulties. 

"I am at the disposal of the club. There are still three games to go, so I will continue doing my work as long as I am allowed to."

Brahim Diaz, Ante Rebic and Fikayo Tomori were on target for a dominant Milan, who could even afford the luxury of a missed Franck Kessie penalty with the score at 1-0. 

Juve have now conceded in each of their last 11 league games – their worst streak since April 2010. 

While Pirlo accepted responsibility for his side's failings this season, he suggested he was not given what he was promised by the club.  

"I had a different project in my mind and thought I would have a different group at my disposal," Pirlo added. 

"I had been working on some concepts, but then I had to make changes in order to suit their characteristics and had to adapt."

Asked if his side are resistant to change, he said: "It's not that this team is resistant to change, but if you have some things in your mind and they become more difficult with certain players.

"If I cannot get the best out of these players, that is my fault and I certainly need to do better.

"If something didn't go right, I take responsibility. This squad is made up of great players, clearly something did not work."

Juve have the chance to return to winning ways when they travel to Sassuolo on Wednesday.

Stefano Pioli warned his Milan players against complacency after they took a significant stride towards Champions League qualification with a resounding 3-0 win over top-four rivals Juventus on Sunday. 

Brahim Diaz opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before Franck Kessie missed the opportunity to double their advantage shortly before the hour mark, when Wojciech Szczesny pawed away his penalty. 

It mattered little in the end, though, as substitute Ante Rebic and Fikayo Tomori sealed a first away Serie A win against the Bianconeri since March 2011 inside the final 12 minutes. 

The victory was Milan's 14th away from home in the league this season, with only Inter in 2006-07 (15) registering more in a single campaign in the history of the competition. 

Pioli was thrilled with his side's efforts, but says they need to quickly turn their focus to Wednesday, when they return to Turin to face Torino. 

"This was a team that believed, that showed a spirit of sacrifice, that gave it's all and showed quality, too," he told Sky Sport Italia.  

"We want to thank our fans, who really moved us this morning with their support, but now we have another game coming up and that might be even more difficult than this."

The win moved the Rossoneri up to third in the table, three points above Juve, who dropped down to fifth with just three games remaining. 

Pioli hailed the determination of his team after they scored three goals away to Juve for the first time since January 2010. 

"We have had big wins this season, but admittedly this was a head-to-head, with the table so tight and so much in the balance," he added. "Unfortunately, it is not the final game of the season so we still have to keep going.

"When it comes to determination, team spirit and preparation to sacrifice, we were perhaps the best team in Italy for a long period of time.

"There was inevitably some mental fatigue after a long campaign, but we knew that today we had to step it up and put in a different performance.

"When it was time to make challenges and fight for every ball, we did not hold back."

Rebic replaced Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the 66th minute, the Sweden international limping off with a knee injury. 

Pioli, though, is confident it is nothing serious. 

"Zlatan was not at 100 per cent, he had half a training session with us on Friday, but he wanted to be here at all costs," he said. 

"He has a sore knee, but I don't think it's anything serious. We'll evaluate it."

Mikel Arteta praised "unique" teenager Bukayo Saka after Arsenal ended a miserable week by relegating West Brom with a 3-1 Premier League victory on Sunday.

The Gunners are facing the prospect of missing out on European football for the first time in 25 years next season after they were knocked out of the Europa League at the semi-final stage by Villarreal on Thursday.

A drab goalless draw against the Spanish side – coached by former Gunners boss Unai Emery – was a new low for Arsenal and piled more pressure on Arteta, but they responded with a first home win in seven games.

Emile Smith Rowe scored his maiden Premier League goal before Nicolas Pepe added a second with a sublime finish to put Arsenal in command.

Matheus Pereira pulled a goal back midway through the second half, but Willian finally opened his Arsenal account with a brilliant late free-kick as Baggies boss Sam Allardyce suffered the agony of relegation from the top tier for the first time.

Saka laid on the opening goal for Smith Rowe and has provided 19 assists in all competitions, the most of any player for the club since making his debut in November 2018.

The 19-year-old was a constant threat, delivering five crosses and producing two key passes in a performance that Arteta was more than happy with.

He told BT Sport: "Going forward we know Saka is a threat, he gives you something unique. He adapted. We believed we were going to attack against them and he gave us a lot of joy."

Arsenal are ninth in the table with surely only pride to play for and Arteta is determined to avoid finishing such a disappointing season with a whimper.

He said: "We will try to win every match and see where we finish. The only thing we can do is win our games." 

The Spaniard added: "We needed that win. It has been a while since we won at home. We scored three fantastic goals and we had some great spells in the game. When we conceded the goal we did look nervy.

"We knew the necessity to win the game. They scored out of nothing and then throw everything at you, they know the situation they are in and we struggled to play that kind of game.

"We scored three fantastic goals but we missed some big chances too."

Real Madrid will require a helping hand if they are to defend their LaLiga crown despite Toni Kroos' late deflected strike rescuing a 2-2 draw at home to Sevilla, whose own hopes now appear over.

Ivan Rakitic had seemingly secured Sevilla a win that would have blown the title race wide open by scoring a late penalty, but deep into second-half stoppage time Kroos saw a hopeful shot hit Diego Carlos, who was unfortunate to see the ball end up in his own net.

Sevilla had taken the lead in the first half thanks to a lovely goal from Fernando, and they were good value for it against a Madrid side that still appeared to be labouring from their Champions League disappointment in midweek – their only moment of excitement coming via a disallowed Karim Benzema header.

They improved in the second period and levelled through Marco Asensio, that goal looking like the catalyst they needed to claim the win that would have put them top, but a switch that saw VAR overturn a Madrid spot-kick because of an incident in the opposing area left Zinedine Zidane's side in trouble.

Although able to cancel out Rakitic's successful kick, the result does Los Blancos little good as they are left two points adrift of leaders Atletico Madrid with just three games remaining.

Paris Saint-Germain's hopes of retaining their Ligue 1 crown took a huge blow as Serhou Guirassy cancelled out Neymar's penalty to earn Rennes a 1-1 draw on Sunday.

With Lille beating Lens 3-0 on Friday, the pressure was on Mauricio Pochettino's side – knocked out of the Champions League in midweek – to respond in the title race.

But without the suspended Kylian Mbappe, PSG turned in a below-par performance, and only led thanks to Neymar's contentious first-half penalty.

Julian Draxler went close to doubling PSG's tally, yet their sluggishness finally proved costly as Guirassy headed home in the 70th minute, with Presnel Kimpembe's late red card compounding the champions' misery.

Ander Herrera sliced wide from Layvin Kurzawa's cut back, but PSG otherwise started poorly, and were almost punished when Guirassy chested in Jeremy Doku's shot, though the offside flag was rightly raised.

PSG were again fortunate just after the half-hour mark, Danilo Pereira bundling into Guirassy, who would have been through on goal, yet the officials failed to spot the foul.

Rennes' frustration with the officials was exacerbated on the stroke of half-time. Nayef Aguerd stuck out a leg to deny Kurzawa, who needed treatment and, after checking with the VAR, Ruddy Buquet harshly deemed it a foul.

Neymar's finish was far from convincing – Alfred Gomis guessing the right way, but failing to keep out the Brazil star's strike.

A fine first touch put Doku through immediately after the restart, only for the winger to direct a tame attempt straight at Keylor Navas.

Draxler is reportedly next in line for a new PSG deal, and the Germany international nearly produced a stunning goal before the hour, but after setting himself up with some wonderful touches, his on-the-turn volley flashed just wide.

Moise Kean went similarly close moments later, though PSG could only attack in flashes, and they were made to pay with 20 minutes remaining.

Benjamin Bourigeaud's corner was met by Guirassy, whose header clipped in off the upright, meaning Lille have one hand firmly on the trophy, and Kimpembe's red for a horrid lunge on Doku summed up a shambolic PSG display.

Milan emphatically enhanced their Champions League hopes at Juventus' expense after a thumping 3-0 win at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday. 

Rumoured Juve target Gianluigi Donnarumma enjoyed a quiet game after a controversial week in which Milan supporters reportedly demanded he missed the clash after contract negotiations had stalled, but the same could not be said for his Juve counterpart. 

Wojciech Szczesny's tepid punch allowed Brahim Diaz to open the scoring on the stroke of half-time, although the Poland international redeemed himself to some extent by keeping out Franck Kessie's second-half penalty. 

There was little he could do about Ante Rebic's stunning strike, however, and Fikayo Tomori's late header made certain Stefano Pioli's side moved up to third in the table. Juve, meanwhile, drop down to fifth with just three games remaining.

Giorgio Chiellini had failed to take a glorious chance to open the scoring just after the half-hour mark, the veteran defender heading wide at the back post from a corner with a flailing Donnarumma nowhere to be seen.

Milan then went ahead in stoppage time when Diaz superbly whipped into the top-right corner after Szczesny's weak clearance from Hakan Calhanoglu's free-kick had fallen kindly to him.

Szczesny made amends for his role in the opener, turning away Kessie's 58th-minute spot-kick after Diaz's shot had hit Chiellini's arm - the penalty given after referee Paolo Valeri had reviewed the incident on the pitchside monitor – but the reprieve did not trigger a Juve fightback.

Instead, Rebic, who had replaced the injured Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the 66th minute, put the game out of the home team's reach with a glorious long-range strike into Szczesny's top-left corner.

On-loan Chelsea defender Tomori powered home a header from Calhanoglu's cross with eight minutes remaining as Milan ended a run of nine straight away league defeats to Juventus in eye-catching style.

Alexander Zverev ended a three-year wait for an ATP Masters 1000 title as he rallied to beat Matteo Berrettini in the Madrid Open final on Sunday.

The German had to do it the hard way at La Caja Magica over the past week, having previously seen off five-time winner Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem en route to the showpiece.

He was in a spot of bother against his Italian opponent at the end of a gripping first set that Berrettini took in a tie-break, Zverev's efforts in coming back from 5-0 down and earning a set point ultimately for nothing.

Berrettini eventually sealed the lead with his fourth set point but Zverev played with renewed focus at the start of the second, taking full advantage of a succession of mistakes with the score at 4-4 to force a decider.

Zverev's greater endurance in rallies then paid dividends early in the third as he broke to go 3-2 up, and Berrettini only won one more game as the German triumphed 6-7 (10-8) 6-4 6-3 to win the tournament for a second time.

Speaking afterwards, he said: "It is great [to win this title], especially after losing my last three finals I played at Masters 1000 events. This is definitely special and I just want to enjoy this one.

"[Berrettini's] game style showed it all. I didn't play anybody this week that can serve 235[km/h] on clay and serve 230km/h kick serves.

"It definitely was a different match and I am extremely happy right now."

On competing at the Internazionali d'Italia next, he added: "Rome is also an event I like and enjoy, so I hope I can perform [in] the same way as I did here and we will see how it goes there. I feel awesome."

This was the first time Zverev has beaten three or more top-10 players in a single competition since his ATP Finals victory in 2018.

Tim Merlier won Stage 2 of the Giro d'Italia as Filippo Ganna retained his place at the top of the General Classification standings.

Belgian Merlier executed a superb sprint to edge out Giacomo Nizzolo, 'the Bridesmaid of Milan', who has the most runner-up finishes in Giro history without ever winning a stage.

Elia Viviani, Dylan Groenewegen and Peter Sagan rounded out the top five following the 179km ride from Stupinigi (Nichelino) to Novara on Sunday.

Merlier kicked with around 250 metres to go and held his nerve, while Fernando Gaviria collided with UAE Team Emirates colleague Juan Sebastian Molano as he tried to squeeze through by the barriers.

"I'm really happy, really proud of it," Merlier said after clinching a first Grand Tour stage win. "I knew there was a roundabout that was really important in the end. When I saw it I knew I was in a good position. When I came out I was thinking, 'We need to go faster, faster, faster.'

"I was in an altitude camp together with my girlfriend and then I came here. It paid off."

Ganna, who leads the GC by 13 seconds, felt it was important to strengthen his position before Monday's more arduous ride from Biella to Canale.

"I did the time bonus sprint just to take the bonification away from the others, thinking of the coming days if Egan [Bernal] or Pavel [Sivakov] are fighting for the Maglia Rosa," he said.

"I saw Remco [Evenepoel] was trying to go for it, too. But Gianni [Moscon] and myself did a good job. I enjoyed hearing the crowd of Piedmont yelling my name today. We know tomorrow is a perfect stage for Peter Sagan."

STAGE RESULT 

1. Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix) 4:21:09
2. Giacomo Nizzolo (Team Qhubeka Assos) same time
3. Elia Viviani (Cofidis) same time
4. Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) same time
5. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) same time

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Filippo Ganna (INEOS Grenadiers) 4:29:53
2. Edoardo Affini (Jumbo-Visma) +00:13
3. Tobias Foss (Jumbo-Visma) +00:16

Points Classification

1. Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix) 50
2. Giacomo Nizzolo (Team Qhubeka Assos) 35
3. Elia Viviani (Cofidis) 30

King of the Mountains

1. Vincenzo Albanese (Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team) 3
2. Filippo Tagliani (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec) 2
3. Umberto Marengo (Bardiani CSF Faizane) 1

Lewis Hamilton was elated that a "good gamble" from Mercedes paid off and said his Spanish Grand Prix victory was an example of the "great trust" in the team.

Hamilton extended his championship lead to 14 points with a third win in four races this season despite being passed by Max Verstappen at Turn One on the opening lap.

Verstappen led for much of the race, but had to settle for second place ahead of Valtteri Bottas after Hamilton overtook him with six laps to go at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Mercedes' two-stop strategy worked a treat, with Hamilton called in for a second set of medium tyres on lap 43 of 66 and returning in third place with over 20 seconds to make up on leader Verstappen.

Verstappen had only pitted once and he was reeled in by the seven-time Formula One world champion, who also had to pass Bottas before regaining the lead.

Hamilton matched Michael Schumacher's record of six Spanish Grand Prix triumphs by winning the race for a fifth consecutive season and he paid tribute to his team.

"First I want to acknowledge the fans that are here," said Hamilton. "It is great to see. I saw a British flag out there, which I haven't seen for a long, long time.

"I feel great after this. I feel like I could go again."

Hamilton added: "I was so close [behind Verstappen] for so long but just managed to keep the tyres in somehow. It was a long way to come back [after the second stop] but it was a good gamble - a really great strategy from the team.

"I was about to get a shot to get past him as I pitted. I was really conflicted - 'do I come in or ignore the call'. I did what the team asked because there is a great trust between us. Remarkable job by everyone in this team. What a day."

Verstappen knew it was only a matter of time before he was caught by Hamilton, who managed his tyres to perfection in another masterful drive that took his tally of F1 wins to 98.

"In a way I could see it coming," said the Dutchman, who secured another point by clocking the fastest lap after finally pitting again from second place with Hamilton easing to victory. 

"Already at the end with the softs, he [Hamilton] was faster and when he put on the mediums, he had a lot more pace. There was not much we could've done.

"Then they went for another stop and I knew it was over because I was already struggling with the tyres and you could see every lap, he was getting closer and closer. Bit of a sitting duck.

"With the cars behind, you don't want to pit in traffic, but it makes a clear advantage when there is more pace in the car. If we would have jumped for another stop, I'm not sure we would've caught up again. I tried everything I could.

"We're not where we want to be and we still need to push hard and catch up because at the moment we are a little bit slower. But compared to last year, it has been a jump for us."

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