Real Madrid put one foot into the final four of the Champions League after a 2-0 win over 10-man Chelsea in the first leg of their quarter-final.
Karim Benzema's first-half tap-in put the holders in front at Santiago Bernabeu before Marco Asensio doubled their advantage with just over a quarter-hour to go.
A straight red card for Ben Chilwell after he tugged down Rodrygo in-between compounded a tough trip to Spain for Frank Lampard's men.
Former Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti and his Los Blancos side will wish they had more to show, but will nevertheless head to Stamford Bridge with a healthy advantage for next week's return leg.
Thibaut Courtois denied Joao Felix on the break and Benzema forced a close-range stop from Kepa at the other end inside the first 15 minutes.
Benzema was in the place after 21 minutes, though, capitalising when Kepa parried Vinicius Junior's shot into his path.
Madrid had chances to extend the lead before the break with David Alaba's header almost squirming in five minutes before half-time.
Chelsea's hopes of a comeback after the break felt slim even before Kalidou Koulibaly was forced to hobble off, and Chilwell's dismissal only worsened matters.
Asensio then was on-point to cap another fine European performance from Madrid when he swept home a cut-back delivery in the 74th minute.
Benzema could and perhaps should have made it three in the final stages of injury time, only to push his looping header over the crossbar from nine yards out.
But the hosts are now well on course to extend their superb continental record, though Ancelotti will know more than most the battle is not over yet for his side.
A third Jos Buttler half-century of the Indian Premier League season saw Rajasthan Royals edge a dramatic three-run victory over Chennai Super Kings.
The England white-ball skipper rattled off another superb knock of 52 to continue his rich vein of form during Wednesday's clash at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium.
But his side's tally of 175-8 was almost knocked off by a pyrotechnic finale from MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja, who crashed 36 runs off the final two overs.
Despite the early loss of fellow opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (10), it was Buttler's sturdy second-wicket partnership with Devdutt Padikkal (38) that kept Rajasthan ticking over.
Even when their 77-run stand came to an end, subsequent turns from Ravichandran Ashwin (30) and Shimron Hetmyer (30 not out) continued to punish a loose bowling attack.
Jadeja's tidy 2-21 off four overs came too late to restrict the damage, and CSK were forced straight onto the offensive themselves when they came to the crease in pursuit.
For a while, it looked like they would prove handily successful in their chase, before the loss of Devon Conway (50) and Ajinkya Rahane (31) saw them tumble to 113-6.
But then, with their side in need, the veteran duo of Dhoni (32 not out) and Jadeja (25 not out) almost dragged them over the line, finishing just shy with 172-6 after Sandeep Sharma held his nerve in the final over.
Buttler continues IPL brilliance
Having led England to T20 World Cup glory last year, there was little doubt the wicketkeeper-batter's form would again be a big-time player for the Royals, and so it has been proven.
After 54 against the Sunrisers and 79 against the Capitals, he has once again shown himself invaluable to the Royals and their hopes of success this season.
Dhoni rolls back the years
Having needed 40 runs off the final dozen balls, it appeared a stretch too far even for the 41-year-old and his superb skills.
But he hasn't hung up his pads yet for a reason, and his devastating knock, with three maximums and an additional four, helped set up the grandstand finish.
Frank Lampard was able to recall Thiago Silva as the veteran defender returned from injury for Chelsea's Champions League quarter-final first leg at Real Madrid.
Chelsea are facing Madrid at this stage of the competition for the second consecutive season, having been agonisingly eliminated in extra time at the Santiago Bernabeu last year.
The Blues are at least boosted by the presence of Silva in the line-up for this latest trip to Madrid, however.
The 38-year-old has been out with a knee ligament injury since late February, missing the European win against Borussia Dortmund and a host of domestic matches that led to Graham Potter's dismissal.
Silva is back working under former boss Lampard, who also brought back N'Golo Kante after he was rested at Wolves on Saturday.
Kante's inclusion saw a change of shape as 2021 final hero Kai Havertz missed out as a difficult season continues, while Ben Chilwell was preferred to Marc Cucurella.
Madrid, like Chelsea, had shuffled their pack at the weekend with little left to play for in the league. They similarly lost to Villarreal.
But Carlo Ancelotti restored his XI from the prior 4-0 win at Barcelona in the Copa del Rey.
Karim Benzema, selected up front, has scored his past 10 Champions League goals in knockout games against English sides, with four of those coming against Chelsea last season.
He netted a hat-trick at Stamford Bridge before his extra-time goal took Madrid through.
Jake Paul has lined up former UFC man Nate Diaz as his next opponent following his split-decision loss to Tommy Fury.
The former social media personality will face the MMA veteran in an eight-round cruiserweight bout at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on August 5.
Paul, who lost his previously unbeaten status against Fury in Saudi Arabia earlier this year, stands at a 6-1 record with four knockouts.
Diaz, who famously inflicted Conor McGregor to a first loss during his UFC days, is a 21-time winner in MMA but will make his professional boxing debut in Texas.
The pair's fight comes amid an escalating war of words between the two over recent months, and will see Paul sidestep a potential bout with fellow media personality-turned-boxer KSI.
The Briton previously defeated the American's brother Logan in his only professional fight in 2019, but Paul says he desires to test himself further after defeat to Fury.
"My last fight didn't end the way I wanted, but the result was the best thing that could have happened to my professional boxing aspirations," Paul said in a statement.
"Now, the world thinks I am vulnerable, when all I am is more focused than ever. My team wanted me to take an easy fight like KSI next, but that's not how I am built.
"Nate Diaz is considered one of the most bad-ass fighters of all time, but he and his team have been running their mouths for too long."
Diaz likewise threw down the gauntlet, adding: "I'm the king of combat sports. I f***** up Conor for acting out and now here I am again, like a superhero."
Christian Horner has responded to George Russell saying Red Bull are "embarrassed to show their full potential" and enjoy a bigger pace gap than has so far appeared to be the case.
Reigning champions Red Bull have dominated the 2023 Formula One season after claiming both pole and the race win in each of the opening three races, including one-twos in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Red Bull have almost double the points of Aston Martin in second in the constructors' championship.
However, at the Australian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen dropped from first to third on lap one, allowing Russell to briefly lead before the Dutchman went on to win the race, while his team-mate Sergio Perez rose to fifth following a pit-lane start.
It prompted Mercedes driver Russell to tell the BBC's Chequered Flag podcast: "For sure, they're holding back.
"I think they almost are embarrassed to show their full potential. I think realistically they probably have seven-tenths [of a second] advantage over the rest of the field.
"I don’t know what the pace difference looks like at the moment, but Max has got no reason to be pushing it, nor [have] Red Bull.
"They've done a really great job, to be fair to them. We can't take that away, and we clearly have to up our game."
When Horner was told about the remarks, he made reference to Mercedes' past dominance of winning eight consecutive constructors' titles before Red Bull ended that run in 2022.
"Okay, that's very generous of him," Horner replied. "His team of all people would know too well about those kind of advantages."
Asked if Russell's comments were true, Horner explained both of his drivers were managing their pace in Melbourne given the intended one-stop strategy before the safety car and red flag dramas.
"There's always an element of managing what goes on in any race," he said. "Because it was a one-stop race and a very early one-stop race, of course there was an element of tyre management which was going on, which was what they were doing.
"[But] Checo wasn't hanging about; he wasn’t cruising around, holding back seven-tenths per lap because he didn't want to show it – the grid was certainly a little bit closer at this venue."
Back-to-back world champion Verstappen leads the drivers' standings by 15 points ahead of Perez, with the season's fourth round on April 30 in Azerbaijan.
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur believes the penalty issued to Red Bull for their cost cap breach was "too light".
The championship leaders were fined $7million and lost 10 per cent of their wind tunnel time after being deemed to have breached the cost cap in 2021, Formula One's inaugural season with the new regulations.
Already having the least time in the wind tunnel due to being crowned champions in 2022, Red Bull's aerodynamic development over the course of the season could be hindered – potentially opening the door for their rivals.
However, Vasseur does not see it that way and believes Red Bull already have a significant enough advantage, rendering the punishment as "marginal" in his eyes.
"The penalty for me was very low," Vasseur said in a recent media call, per ESPN.
"If you consider that basically we will improve a bit less than a second over the season in terms of aero, you get a penalty of 10 percent of this it's one-tenth and as it's not a linear progression it's probably less.
"You are allowed to spend this money somewhere else, so it means for me the penalty is marginal.
"If you consider that you have an advantage at the beginning of the season because you spend more the year before, then the compensation...
"I don't want to say that they didn't do a good job because I think honestly that they did a very good job on the car. I'm not trying to find an excuse at all. It's not this. But if you ask me if the penalty is too light, I say yes."
Ben Stokes has promised to continue England's aggressive and attacking style and eased concerns over his own fitness ahead of the Ashes this summer.
Stokes, who succeeded Joe Root to become England's Test captain last year, has implemented an aggressive approach and has led the side to 10 wins out of 12 since taking charge.
England have not won an Ashes series against Australia since 2015, but their skipper has promised not to deviate from this new style when they face the top-ranked Test side.
"I'm not going to change anything just because it's the Ashes," Stokes told Sky Sports.
"I'm not going to change for anything or any situation, because then I'm not being true to myself and what I've done over the last year.
"Every player knows the Ashes is where everything ramps up a bit – pressure, exposure, all kinds of stuff – but we'll just keep sticking to what we do.
"If you plan for negativity, it is inevitable it is going to happen."
English pitches have notoriously been prepared to suit their swing bowlers, but the England captain revealed he has now requested flatter pitches to help benefit their swashbuckling batting approach and abundance of fast-bowling talent.
"We want fast, flat wickets. We want to go out there and score quickly," he said. "I'm smiling because I'm looking forward to it.
"I think having the option to have someone who can bowl above 90 miles per hour is what any captain wants.
"Hold me to it. Every game I play this summer will be to produce a result."
Stokes is close to knowing his XI for the first Test and has been boosted by his own fitness after concerns about his knee after England's Test series in New Zealand.
The all-rounder bowled himself sparingly in that series and has not played for Chennai Super Kings in their last two IPL games but said he is now bowling "pain-free" for the first time in over a year.
"I've worked so hard over the last month, five weeks, to get where I am now," he said.
"That's down to a lot of hard work I've done – medically, in the gym, and I obviously had a bit of help with some cortisone injections.
"The main priority for me is making sure that I can fulfil my role as fourth seamer in the Ashes.
"I've had some good conversations with the people who are employed to look after us, body-wise. I said I'll be doing everything I can whilst I'm in India to make sure that when we get to the Ashes, I'll give myself the best opportunity to do my role."
Daniil Medvedev marched past Lorenzo Sonego at the Monte Carlo Masters to secure a tour-leading 30th win of the 2023 season.
The third seed overcame the Italian 6-3 6-2 to clinch a spot in the round of 16 alongside compatriots Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov – marking just the third time in the Open Era that three Russians have reached that stage at Monte Carlo.
Medvedev will face Alexander Zverev, who clinched his spot with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Roberto Bautista Agut earlier in the day, in the next round.
"We've had some tough matches. We played for the first time maybe seven years ago on the ATP Tour, and in juniors maybe 12 years ago," Medvedev said of Zverev.
"I remember I beat him once in a final on clay in juniors, but it’s going to be a different story.
"I saw him in the first two matches, he seemed to be in good shape. I'm just going to have to be at my best."
Elsewhere, Jannik Sinner claimed a 6-0 3-1 victory over Diego Schwartzman, who retired in the second set, to take his total of wins in 2023 to 22, with only Medvedev having more.
There was also a win for Taylor Fritz, who overcame Stan Wawrinka 7-6 (12-10) 6-2, while qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff registered an upset with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Alex de Minaur.
Players at the Women's World Cup should be allowed to show support for social causes, believes Football Australia chief executive James Johnson.
Australia and New Zealand are set to host this year's finals following the men's tournament in Qatar in 2022.
The build-up to that event was dominated by discussion of human rights issues relating to the host nation, and players were banned from wearing a OneLove armband supporting LGBTQ+ rights.
Football Australia is in talks with FIFA to avoid similar problems this time around, Johnson revealed, and expects players to be vocal in support of various causes.
"What you'll see from the Matildas is not just great performances on the pitch, but they're going to make some points off it as well," he told Sky Sports.
"We are working with FIFA [and] we'll make sure we bake into the competition regulations some exceptions to the rules, so the players can express themselves in a free way.
"Once that's agreed, the players can express themselves on certain issues, especially LGBTQI issues, which are on the tip of the Matildas' tongue.
"Then they can get back to football and do their work on the pitch.
"It could be an armband, it could be an indigenous flag. We haven't got into the specifics. We're optimistic we'll land in a place we're happy with and the players are happy with as well."
Johnson's comments come after talks between FIFA and Visit Saudi regarding sponsorship of the finals prompted criticism from high-profile players.
"We weren't happy with how it played out," Johnson added. "We weren't happy with what we thought the outcome was going to be either.
"That's not just us [Football Australia], it's the government, and we also spoke to the players. In our view, it didn't align with the vision of the tournament.
"We took a principled stand. It wasn't popular with everyone, but that's what leaders have to do sometimes. We've spent a lot of time listening to our players to try to understand what's important to them.
"The Matildas support a lot of social issues, and we need to back our players. When we have to push issues with FIFA, we do that for our players."
Former India captain and coach Ravi Shastri has called the rate of injuries suffered by their fast bowlers "ridiculous".
India have suffered with maintaining the health of their pace options over the past few years, with players struggling to complete full tours.
Deepak Chahar is the latest India seamer to be sidelined, after suffering a left hamstring injury during the Indian Premier League game between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.
Players are rehabilitated at the BCCI's National Cricket Academy, but Shastri has now questioned just how effective the team's recovery methods are, given their high turnover of problems.
"Let's put it this way: there are quite a few in the last three or four years who are permanent residents of the NCA," Shastri told ESPN's T20 Time:Out.
"Soon, they'll get a resident permit there to walk in any time they want, which is not a good thing at all. It's unreal.
"You're not playing that much cricket to be injured again and again. If you are going to come back, make sure you get fit and come once and for all because it's frustrating not just for the team, the players, the BCCI, the captains of the various franchises.
"I can understand a serious injury, but every four games when someone touches his hamstring or someone touches his groin, you start thinking what are these guys training. Some of them don't play any other cricket. It's ridiculous.
Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Mohsin Khan and Yash Dayal are among the other pace options India have seen injured to varying degrees in recent months.
Bumrah, in particular, attempted an unsuccessful comeback before conceding the need for surgery in March.
Sevilla president Jose Castro rallied his side ahead of their Europa League tie against Manchester United after the Spanish outfit landed in England for the first leg.
Castro reflected on Sevilla's rich history in the competition as reason for optimism despite the backdrop of a poor LaLiga campaign that sees them in 12th.
This Europa League track record includes six titles, with the most recent coming in 2020 after a semi-final 2-1 win over United.
Castro said: "We have the opportunity after a bad league season that we are doing. In Europe, we are in remarkable shape, and if we advance, it would be outstanding.
"We are the king of the competition, we are going to make it difficult, and the squad is aware, because for Sevilla, the Europa League is something else.
"[United] have the environment, the stadium, the squad, the budget, the clubs they have eliminated... but we are in our competition, and we are going to try to make it difficult, with the memories of going through as we have done on other occasions against this team."
In 2019-20, goals from Suso and Luuk de Jong saw Julen Lopetegui's side through, while Sevilla also eliminated United from the Champions League last 16 in 2017-18.
They are big underdogs this time, however, with Sevilla's domestic form contrasting with a top-four push in Manchester as Erik ten Hag continues to impose his vision on his United squad.
"We know the difficulty of the tie, which is complicated because they are a great team with a huge squad," Castro added.
"Sevilla never give up. We have this opportunity, and we are going to try to take advantage of it against a great team who are showing a lot.
"I see more options now because I see the team more compact and better in everything, but above all because we have players recovering.
"So many injuries in the same positions have affected us a lot, and now the coach has more options, something that could be decisive."
Indeed, this could be a key factor in at least the first leg. As Sevilla players return, Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw are out for United.
The Boston Bruins have "much bigger goals" in the Stanley Cup playoffs than a record-breaking NHL regular season.
Boston set a new high for single-season wins with their 63rd against the Philadelphia Flyers over the weekend, and they made yet more history with win 64 on Tuesday.
A 5-2 defeat of the Washington Capitals took the Bruins to 133 points for the season, clear of the Montreal Canadiens' 1976-77 benchmark of 132.
But postseason success is the primary goal for the Bruins. Since winning their sixth Stanley Cup in 2011, this is their third Presidents' Trophy.
That Canadiens team, widely considered the greatest of all time, followed up their regular season by winning the title.
Winger Brad Marchand said: "We have a very special group. It's incredible how we've come together this year.
"We've done a phenomenal job all year of staying in the moment.
"We're proud of the group, but this is a regular-season record. That's not what we're playing for. We have our sights set on much bigger goals.
"I think it [the record] is something we'll look at down the road when we're daydreaming about what we got to do and what we've accomplished."
Boston coach Jim Montgomery was a little more open to discussing the team's latest achievement, recalling the quality of the 1977 Canadiens.
"I think of all the Hall of Famers on those teams and then Scotty Bowman behind the bench and going to the old Montreal Forum," he said.
"Think about how great those teams were and how we've surpassed that total. It's significant because those were dominant, dominant hockey teams."
Massimiliano Allegri has warned his Juventus side about the strength of Sporting CP ahead of the two teams clashing in the Europa League quarter-final.
Juventus host the Primeira Liga side in the first leg on Thursday night, after the Bianconeri eliminated Freiburg in the last 16, while Sporting beat Arsenal.
Allegri's side sit seventh in Serie A after a 15-point deduction for alleged transfer irregularities, while Sporting are fourth in Portugal's top-flight and are unbeaten in their last 11 games in all competitions.
"Tomorrow is a difficult match," Allegri said at a press conference on Wednesday. "It is an important quarter-final against a team that has been on a positive run for 11 games now.
"Sporting's coach [Ruben Amorim] is young and very good. He brought the league title back to the club [in 2020-21] after 19 years.
"We have to do things the right way tomorrow to have an advantage for when we go to Lisbon."
Juventus will be boosted by the return of key players on Thursday, including Paul Pogba, whose injury-hit season has seen him play just 35 minutes since re-signing from Manchester United last summer.
"Pogba is on his feet, which we are happy about," added Allegri. "Now we are working on improving his condition.
"Tomorrow he will be available and will be on the bench. Alex Sandro and [Dusan] Vlahovic are both available, but [Mattia] De Sciglio is not."
Juventus are second-favourites to win the Europa League behind United, but Allegri is not look beyond the quarter-final.
"Clearly it would be fantastic to get to play the final," he said. "But before then, there are still four games to face, starting with home and away against Sporting.
"So, it's too early to talk about playing in a final. We're only thinking about this next game, and we'll continue step by step."
Bayern Munich condemned racism in the "strongest possible terms" after Dayot Upamecano was abused online following his mistake against Manchester City on Tuesday.
Upamecano was caught in possession by Jack Grealish ahead of the lead up to City's second goal in their Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Etihad Stadium, with the hosts punishing the France international's error as Erling Haaland crossed for Bernardo Silva to nod home.
Pep Guardiola's men went on to win 3-0, giving Bayern a huge task ahead of the return leg next week at the Allianz Arena, and Upamecano was subjected to racist abuse on social media following the match.
Bayern commented on Upamecano's recent Instagram post: "All of us at FC Bayern condemn racism in the strongest possible terms!
"The entire club stands behind you, Upa!"
Upamecano is the latest player to be abused after FIFA vowed they would clamp down on online discrimination prior to the 2022 World Cup.
FIFA launched a new service following the racial abuse of England's Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford after their missed penalties at Euro 2020, though Upamecano's Bayern team-mate Kingsley Coman would go on to receive comments following his failed spot-kick in France's final defeat to Argentina in Qatar.
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