Chelsea forward Kai Havertz is enjoying some strong form once again, but he revealed the mental toll this season has taken on himself and those around him.

The Germany international has made 22 starts from Chelsea's 26 Premier League fixtures this campaign, having only scored 27 goals as a team.

It has resulted in a pressure-packed season as boss Graham Potter fights for his job, and while Havertz's own production has not taken too much of a hit, the weight of a disappointing season has taken its toll.

After eight goals and four assists in 29 league appearances last season, Havertz has tallied six goals and one assist this time around, but had only one goal in his past 10 prior to finding the back of the net against Leicester City in Saturday's 3-1 win.

"Football is our life," Havertz told reporters. "If you lose a game, of course you don’t have an easy life as well. 

"I think everyone at home, especially my girlfriend, has had some tough weeks as well in the last weeks and months. I think she is happy now again and so am I.

"For you [journalists], it is the same – if you have a bad day at work… you… I won’t say the word now but you don’t feel good. Football is a game where we have a lot of pressure on our shoulders.

"We want to make the fans happy and if you don’t make them happy then you don’t have a good time."

But things have begun to swing back the other way, with Havertz coming off a goal in consecutive games as he put one past Borussia Dortmund to help Chelsea advance in the Champions League, before another strong performance against Leiceister.

"Winning is always the best, we won again so we can enjoy some days," he said. "We knew it was going to take some time to adapt for everyone. So maybe, you could see that we are still not finished. 

"It will always take time to develop. We can develop a lot but we showed another good performance [at Leicester] and we can be happy.

"Of course, to win three games in a row is important for us because we had a tough time before that. We knew we would bounce back. 

"We still have a game to play [at home to Everton] before the [international break for the] national team. We have to keep our focus high and win the next game as well."

Scottie Scheffler says it is "very special" to join golf greats Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus as the only players to hold the Masters and Players Championship titles at the same time.

Scheffler won the Players' Championship at Sawgrass on Sunday by five strokes, re-claiming the world number one ranking in the process.

The 26-year-old American's dominant victory comes after winning last month's Phoenix Open, along with last season's PGA Player of the Year after collecting his first four tour titles.

Scheffler has won six of his past 27 events, but joining Woods and Nicklaus in a rare group meant a lot to him.

"It's quite a special group of people," Scheffler told reporters, before joking: "We could add all our majors and Players together and I have two now and they have a lot more than that.

"But any time you can get mentioned in the same breath as Tiger and Jack it's very special. I'm very grateful for that."

Scheffler's career-best form comes with his Masters' defence a month away, and he described how his game has matured over the past 18 months.

"I'm just comfortable with where my game is," Scheffler said. "I feel like I'm improving. I'm definitely learning more and the more you can get into contention and be in the moments. I would say that's probably the most valuable thing is knowing what you feel like and being able to prepare for it.

"I am a bit more comfortable knowing what I need to do. I think before Phoenix [in 2022] I had this idea that I had to play perfect on Sundays and hit nothing but good shots and that's not necessarily how golf is played. Very rarely do I hit it exactly how I want to and maybe only a couple times a tournament. Most of it is just managing your way around a golf course.

"Going into the Masters, it's going to be a fun week… but by the time we tee it up Thursday everybody starts at even par so it probably doesn't have much of an effect."

The American went on a run of five birdies around the turn at Sawgrass, picking up shots at each hole from eight to 12, on the way to a 69 that took him to 17 under, finishing five shots clear of Tyrrell Hatton. Scheffler broke 70 in all four of his rounds.

"I played really well the whole week, really solid," Scheffler said. "I had some times throughout week where I didn't feel like I was swinging my best or playing at a 100 per cent, and then I would just kind of wait and pick my moments, and fortunately, I got kind of hot in spurts in each of my rounds, whether it was the back nine on the first round or eight-through-12 this afternoon.

"I just found a way to choose my moments and get hot here and there and had four just really solid rounds."

Scheffler's dominance at the notoriously challenging Sawgrass was an ominous sign for the Masters at Augusta National.

"I get excited for a good hard test," he said. "I feel like that I can find a way to make pars and hang in there.

"This week I think I had five bogeys for the whole week. Around this place that's really, really hard to do and that's probably what I'm most proud of is just playing so solid. I think I just like the challenge of kind of harder golf courses."

England captain Jos Buttler soaked up the disappointment of a T20I series defeat to Bangladesh and insisted it had been worth trialling a team light on frontline batters.

With Tom Abell and Will Jacks unavailable due to injury, England might have sent for batting reinforcements but instead elected to persevere with their weakened unit.

It meant Moeen Ali batted at three on Sunday, with Sam Curran at six, both bumped up higher than they would usually be expected to figure in the order.

Moeen made 15 and Curran added 12 in a feeble 117 all out, with Buttler dropping down from playing as an opener to bat at number four, where he scored only four.

Bangladesh won by four wickets, with Najmul Hossain Shanto hitting 46no, leaving Buttler to face questions about England's performance, and their selections.

"It's a different balance and it's a different feel to the team," he said. "I think we're wanting to give exposure to guys especially who, in these conditions, will also probably play a part in the 50-over World Cup.

"It felt like a great chance to expose the all-rounders' batting, maybe one spot higher than in our normal team.

"The way cricket is at the moment, there's a few players who've opted not to be here anyway for various reasons. So instead of calling up someone else, we tried to use the guys who would be exposed to these conditions in the 50-over World Cup as well."

Regarding his own move in the line-up, perhaps intended to beef up the middle order, Buttler said: "I'm very comfortable batting anywhere in the order.

"I've spent a hell of a lot of my career as a middle order player, and I think we've got some good options. I just felt like it would be an opportunity to try something different."

England will hope for a better outcome in Tuesday's final match, but Bangladesh's wins in Chattogram and Mirpur mean the tourists are playing for mere consolation.

Xavi declared Barcelona's slender 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao as a "golden victory" after they survived a late onslaught to restore their nine-point lead ahead of next weekend's Clasico.

Raphinha's first-half goal at San Mames ultimately proved decisive, but that was just the tip of the iceberg as Barca were forced to withstand intense late pressure.

Earlier, Raul Garcia had hit the post for the hosts, and Athletic's late barrage began with Alex Berenguer striking the woodwork.

Athletic thought they salvaged a dramatic draw when Inaki Williams surged clear and smashed home, but the goal was then disallowed after a VAR check, with Iker Muniain deemed to have handled in the build-up.

Nico Williams then somehow failed to properly connect with the ball when seemingly destined to convert a tap-in; the follow-up by Yuri Berchiche was cleared off the line; and Gorka Guruzeta's volley from that rebound was crucially blocked in front of goal by Andreas Christensen.

It was a valuable win with Barca set to face second-placed Real Madrid at Camp Nou on Sunday.

"The same thing has happened to us again," Xavi told reporters. "We have been at a good level for 75 minutes, although we have to attack better.

"It was a difficult game. In San Mames you end up suffering, and that's what happened. It's a golden victory for us and we take three very important points.

"We maintained the nine-point lead, and we go into the Clasico with confidence.

"But we have to get better offensively. We had two or three clear chances in the second half: from Ansu [Fati]; from [Alejandro] Balde, who didn't choose well; from [Robert] Lewandowski with a header.

"We have to improve in that aspect, be calmer and more patient and play more in the attacking half. Defensive solidity must also be valued, but it's true that we have to improve in the attack."

Barca were greeted with a particularly vociferous reception at San Mames in light of the Negreira scandal.

Last month, broadcaster SER Catalunya alleged Barca had paid €1.6million to the company of Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira – the former vice-president of Spain's Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) – between 2016 and 2018.

Newspaper El Pais claimed Negreira's company – DASNIL 95 SL – produced written reports and DVD assessments of referees prior to games.

On Friday, however, Barca – who have denied any wrongdoing – were charged with corruption over alleged payments to Negreira, who is also facing charges along with the club's former presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell.

It also emerged on Friday that prosecutors allege Barca paid €7.3m to companies owned by Negreira between 2001 and 2018.

Athletic fans jeered Barca and chanted for them to be demoted to the Segunda, and the reception left Xavi taken aback.

"I am surprised by the hostile atmosphere of San Mames and it saddens me," he said. "Judging prematurely [before a trial] is not good for society.

"Everyone is free. I respect opinions. But we are being judged prematurely, and it saddens me.

"I have nothing more to add. We haven't talked about it in the locker room.

"Those things are for the club [to deal with]. We focus on playing football, we're professionals."

Massimiliano Allegri encouraged the struggling Dusan Vlahovic to "remain serene" despite his missed penalty in Juventus' 4-2 victory over Sampdoria.

The striker hit the post from 12 yards at the Allianz Stadium and despite a game-high eight shots on goal, he has now gone five successive Serie A matches without scoring for the first time in his career.

Vlahovic also saw four attempts blocked, and his frustration was evident as his efforts in front of goal reaped no rewards.

Meanwhile, Adrien Rabiot struck twice and Bremer and Matias Soule were also on target for the Bianconeri who, despite surrendering a 2-0 lead, closed the gap on fourth-place Milan to nine points.

But while Vlahovic continues to draw blanks, Allegri offered words of encouragement to his number nine.

"Dusan played a very good game," he told DAZN. "He must remain serene. Tonight, he played better technically. He has to stay calm.

"Let's not forget that he has been at Juventus for a year, he has done well, he is doing well. He has all the qualities to improve.

"When he manages to regulate his management of the game, he will be less hasty when the ball arrives."

Rabiot, meanwhile, continued his most prolific season in front of goal, taking his tally to nine with his brace on Sunday.

But the midfielder has urged his team-mates to improve their concentration levels ahead of Thursday's Europa League last-16 second leg against Freiburg, in which the Bianconeri hold a narrow 1-0 lead.

"In some moments, I have to take responsibility, if there is a need to do it alone," he said. "Tonight, I scored an important goal to bring the victory.

"I'm happy – a little less for the first half where we started well, but conceded two goals that we must not concede.

"We have to work and be more focused during the game. Don't be careless because we scored two goals. We had to win to prepare well for the game against Freiburg."

The France international's future is uncertain with his Juve contract set to expire at the end of the season, but he admits he is content in Turin.

"At the moment, I don't think about anything," he added. "I'm happy with the help to the team and then we'll see. Here, I'm fine; I'm scoring a lot of goals, and I think I'll score more."

Scottie Scheffler earned a huge confidence bump ahead of his Masters title defence by triumphing at The Players Championship on Sunday.

The American went on a run of five birdies around the turn at Sawgrass, picking up shots at each hole from eight to 12, on the way to a 69 that took him to 17 under, enough for a five-shot victory.

Scheffler, 26, hops up one spot and returns to number one in the world rankings thanks to this big win. He has won all six of his PGA Tour titles since the beginning of last year, with a hot streak leading up to Augusta last year followed in 2023 by a Phoenix Open victory and now this commanding success.

He was two clear of nearest rival Min Woo Lee coming into the final round, but as the Australian's challenge fell away, Scheffler pulled further clear of the field. He broke 70 in all four of his rounds.

Tyrrell Hatton matched the back-nine course record on his way to second place outright, with the Englishman coming home in 29 for a seven-under-par 65 to finish at 12 under.

Hatton made birdies at 10, 12 and then at every hole from the 14th onwards, producing what he described as a "pretty mad" final flourish to scorch to 12 under.

Viktor Hovland had a closing 68 to finish in a tie for third with Tom Hoge, whose 70 on Sunday was the final act in a dramatic week that began for him with a 78. Hoge narrowly made the cut after a 68 in round two, before shooting a course-record 62 on Saturday.

He cancelled flights home on Friday, when bad weather caused a delay to the second round, and again on Saturday, after making it through on the cut line, with Hoge reaping the rewards of his persistence.

American Alex Smalley had a hole-in-one at the 17th, the famous par-three island hole, early on Sunday, but windy conditions later on made it treacherous and a host of players sent balls into the water. Scheffler reached that penultimate hole with a five-shot lead and an excellent tee shot meant he had cleared the last real obstacle in his path.

Hideki Matsuyama was in with a shout at one stage after reaching 12 under with five holes to play, but the 2021 Masters champion played those holes in three over par, signing for a 68 and sliding to fifth place.

Scheffler's playing partner Lee was one of seven players tied for sixth after having two sevens on his card. Lee finished with a miserable 76 that a brilliant birdie at 17 could not salvage, albeit he revelled in the moment after hitting his tee shot to just five feet from the pin. A bogey at the last summed up his rotten day.

Taylor Montgomery went from 10 under after 14 holes to three under three holes later, twice finding water at the 17th, going 5-7-7 in that stretch to tumble off the leaderboard and into the ranks of the also-rans. He parred the last for a 76 and a tie for 44th place, having been firmly in contention for top three just an hour earlier.

Scheffler avoid any such chaos, and after an emotional celebration with family he told the Golf Channel: "It's a lot of fun. A long day, a tough day. I knew the conditions were going to get really hard late, and I did a really good job of staying patient and not trying to force things. I got hot in the middle of the round and tried to put things away as quickly as I could."

His game is in great shape ahead of his Augusta title defence next month, and Scheffler said: "I'm just hoping to improve. I'm just trying to get a little bit better, not over-think things. I'm so fortunate to be able to see some results and enjoy some wins and I'm very thankful."

A late VAR reprieve ensured Barcelona clung on to a slender 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao as Raphinha continued his impressive form to restore the Blaugrana's nine-point lead at the summit.

Barca looked to have been pegged back by a dramatic Inaki Williams equaliser, but it was disallowed for handball and Xavi's side just about held on in the face of intense pressure.

The visitors had to weather a storm in the first half as well, making the most of their survival on the stroke of half-time when the in-form Raphinha struck.

Williams' disallowed goal was then followed by more late chances for Athletic, but the hosts' efforts amounted to nothing as Barca got one over former coach Ernesto Valverde.

Paul Pogba's absence from the Juventus squad on Sunday came after he felt an adductor injury when taking free-kicks in training, according to Massimiliano Allegri.

Head coach Allegri explained Pogba's situation before Juventus faced Sampdoria on Serie A duty, at the end of a turbulent week for French midfielder Pogba.

The former Manchester United player has had a torrid time of things with knee and thigh injuries since embarking on a second spell at Juventus last July, appearing for just 34 minutes across two substitute appearances.

Pogba appeared to have put those issues behind him when briefly featuring in back-to-back games against Torino and Roma, but he was dropped for Thursday's match with Freiburg.

That was down to Pogba turning up late for a team meeting ahead of the Europa League tie, yet Allegri said on Saturday he would be involved against Sampdoria.

However, that plan changed on Sunday, dealing another blow to player and club.

Allegri told DAZN before kick-off: "This morning while he was taking free-kicks he felt discomfort in his adductor, he stopped.

"Tomorrow we will see the extent of the damage. Tonight he could have given us a hand, but we are waiting for him, it's a year like this anyway, these things happen in life too.

"He must be good and strong to get up and want to return to the player he was before."

Adrien Rabiot's controversial strike helped to spare Juventus' blushes as they beat bottom side Sampdoria 4-2 in Serie A.

The France international put his team 3-2 ahead in a tight contest at the Allianz Stadium with his second goal, despite appearing to control the ball with his arm before volleying in.

Gleison Bremer and Rabiot both scored headers to put Massimiliano Allegri’s side into a 2-0 lead, but Sampdoria responded by striking twice in as many minutes through Tommaso Augello and Filip Djuricic before half-time.

Rabiot restored the hosts' advantage after the break though and despite Dusan Vlahovic's missed penalty, Juve held out for an eighth-straight home win over the Blucerchiati as substitute Matias Soule added a late fourth.

Despite a nervy start, Juventus broke the deadlock after 11 minutes as Bremer towered above the defence to head home Filip Kostic's corner.

Another header doubled the hosts' lead in the 26th minute when Rabiot buried Fabio Miretti's inviting cross.

But Sampdoria – this season's lowest scorers in the top five European leagues before Sunday – responded five minutes later with Augello neatly guiding in Mehdi Leris' deflected centre.

And within 72 seconds, they were level as Djuricic arrived late in the box to steer home Alessandro Zanoli's low cross.

Juve controversially regained the lead in the 64th minute, the VAR awarding Rabiot a second goal despite the ball seeming to strike the midfielder's arm before he brilliantly volleyed into the top corner.

Vlahovic missed an opportunity to kill off the contest, his penalty striking the post after Augello felled substitute Juan Cuadrado, but the hosts did seal the points in stoppage time, Soule nodding in his first senior goal after Vlahovic's initial header was tipped onto the crossbar.

The Washington Commanders placed the franchise tag on Daron Payne in late February with the hope they could work out a long-term contract with the defensive tackle.

Less than two weeks later, the two sides have finalised a massive deal.

Payne, 25, agreed to terms with the Commanders on Sunday for a four-year contract worth $90million, with $60m guaranteed.

The deal, which was first reported on Sunday, makes Payne the second-highest paid defensive tackle, trailing only the $95m contract seven-time All-Pro Aaron Donald signed with the Los Angeles Rams last year.

Payne was initially due to make $18.94m in 2023 under the franchise tag he agreed to on February 28.

The 25-year-old Payne has emerged as one of the league’s best defensive tackles and was named to his first Pro Bowl last year after leading Washington with a career-high 11.5 sacks, while also recording 18 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.

The 13th overall pick of the 2018 draft, Payne has 26 career sacks, 40 tackles for loss and four fumble recoveries in 81 games over five seasons for Washington.

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag was not particularly concerned about the injury suffered by Alejandro Garnacho on Sunday despite him requiring crutches as he left Old Trafford.

Garnacho was introduced in the second half of United's 0-0 draw with Southampton and went down hurt during the latter stages under a challenge from Kyle Walker-Peters.

The Southampton defender won the ball on the stretch in the penalty area, but Garnacho's right ankle appeared to get trapped between Walker-Peters' legs.

Garnacho looked to be in agony but managed to play on until he was withdrawn in stoppage time as Ten Hag sought to bolster 10-man United at the back.

He was subsequently spotted leaving the stadium with the support of crutches.

"He was a little bit limping after the bad tackle," Ten Hag told reporters.

"In the end they brought on another striker, a big and tall one [Paul Onuachu] and I don't want to go for risk, we were already downsized to 10 [men].

"I didn't want to go with players who were [just] 90 per cent [fit]. That's why I called him off, but I think it is not too bad."

United are next in action on Thursday as they go to Seville to face Real Betis in the second leg of their Europa League last-16 tie.

They take a 4-1 aggregate lead to the Benito Villamarin after a comprehensive win at Old Trafford in the first leg.

Reims are flying under head coach Will Still and remain undefeated in Ligue 1 since the Belgian-born Englishman took charge in October.

A goal from Arsenal loanee Folarin Balogun sealed a 1-0 win at Monaco on Sunday, taking Reims into eighth place and closer to European qualification.

Still is only the second boss to remain unbeaten in his first 17 games (W9 D8) in the top-five European leagues in the 21st century, after Tito Vilanova with Barcelona in 2012-13 (18).

The 30-year-old is astonishingly costing the French club €25,000 per game in fines due to not having a UEFA Pro Licence under Ligue 1 rules.

It is clearly worth it, though, with Reims having kept six consecutive clean sheets in the league, establishing their longest run without conceding a goal in their top-flight history. Only Serie A giants Juventus have had a better streak in the top-five European leagues this season (eight between October 2022 and January 2023).

Les Rouges et Blancs have also won three consecutive games in a single top-flight season for the first time since April 1978, while their 10 games unbeaten away from home in Ligue 1 (W2 D8) is their longest since May-December 1959 (13).

Still is not the only Englishman impressing at the club, with Balogun's goal against Monaco taking him to 16 in 26 league games for the season.

Aged 21 years and 252 days, Balogun became the youngest player to score at least 16 goals in his first season in Ligue 1 since Mohammed Salem with Sedan-Torcy in 1960-61.

The England Under-21 international is also the only player to score against each of the top five in Ligue 1 this season, having netted against Paris Saint-Germain, Marseille, Lens, Monaco and Rennes (twice).

Still has the chance to match Vilanova's record when his team host Marseille next Sunday.

Julen Lopetegui claimed Wolves were denied a "very, very clear penalty" by referee Andy Madley in Sunday's 2-1 defeat at Newcastle United.

Wolves were furious in January when they had a late goal disallowed for offside against Liverpool in the FA Cup at Anfield, and they remain convinced that was an injustice.

Madley was also the man in the middle that time, with Wolves denied what would almost certainly have been a winning goal as the game finished 2-2, with Liverpool going on to edge the replay 1-0 at Molineux.

That incident has not been forgotten by Lopetegui, and he was aghast at Wolves being denied a spot-kick early on against Newcastle at St James' Park.

Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope took a poor touch and gave away the ball to Wolves striker Raul Jimenez, before seeming to bundle the Mexican to the floor.

Wolves wanted a penalty and a red card but got neither, and Lopetegui said afterwards: "It's true that, for me, it was a very, very clear penalty for us. We are very unlucky with the referee. This is a pity for us.

"It doesn't matter what I think. The more important thing is that this is true that we have suffered a big mistake a lot of matches ago at Liverpool, and for me [Sunday's incident] was a penalty, but the VAR can't help in this case the referee. We were very unlucky with the decision. We didn't have a penalty since I arrived here."

Alexander Isak headed Newcastle ahead in the first half, but Hwang Hee-chan brought Wolves level in the 70th minute.

The visitors sat deep and were punished by a fine finish from Miguel Almiron nine minutes later.

Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe told Sky Sports he felt there would have been no justification in awarding Wolves a penalty for the clash between Pope and Jimenez, which came when the game was goalless.

Howe said: "I didn't think it was a penalty at the time. You might say I was biassed, but I didn't. I thought it was Jimenez going down before the contact was made, that was my initial assessment."

Substitute Almiron delighted Howe with his contribution off the bench, having been a regular starter up to now.

"Not that he necessarily needed to give a response, it was a case of us just trying to freshen him up," Howe said. "It's an outstanding season that he's had, he's contributed in lots of different ways, and you see the work rate he gives every week. He made a massive impact, and I'm delighted for him."

Howe was glad to halt a five-game winless run, with the Magpies jumping above Liverpool into fifth place.

"I just think it reignites us," he said. "Hopefully it re-sparks us into action and restores confidence levels to where they should be."