Leaders Leicester missed the chance to move clear at the top of the Championship as they suffered a shock 1-0 defeat away to relegation-threatened Plymouth, thanks to Mustapha Bundu’s 21st-minute winner.

Second-placed Ipswich remain level on points with the Foxes, with Leeds a point further back ahead of their games on Saturday with all three clubs currently having four matches left.

Managerless Argyle climbed to 16th on the back of their first home win in seven, under the caretaker management team of director of football Neil Dewsnip and first-team coach Kevin Nancekivell and now sit five points clear of the bottom three.

It only took five minutes for Leicester to test home goalkeeper Michael Cooper as Abdul Fatawu’s thumping right-footed shot – following a flowing move – forcing him into a diving save low down to his left.

Ricardo Pereira was next to test Cooper, following a defence-splitting one-two with Wilfred Ndidi. Again it was all diving Cooper could do to parry the ball away.

Stephy Mavididi latched on to the aerial ball and headed it back across the goal, which resulted in a goalmouth scramble and Argyle eventually clearing the ball.

Mavididi went close with a curling 13th-minute shot after being teed up by playmaker Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall on the edge of the box. The attacking midfielder’s shot beat Cooper for pace but flew just past the post.

Totally against the run of play, Plymouth stunned their visitors with a 21st-minute goal on the counter.

Adam Forshaw intercepted a Leicester attack and released recalled striker Bundu with a superb, measured pass through the middle of the park.

Bundu sprinted forward and – as he got into the penalty box – let fly with a fierce angled drive from the right that beat diving Mads Hermansen and rocketed into the far corner.

Harry Winks fired wide from 20 yards as Argyle failed to clear their lines following another City corner with the half-hour mark approaching.

Argyle’s next best chance fell to Bundu, after good work by Forshaw and substitute Joe Edwards, but this time the striker fired high over.

Cooper did well to save low at his near post as Dewsbury-Hall fired across the face of goal in the 44th minute from close range.

Cooper was again called into action early in the second half as he made another save, while Dewsbury-Hall tried his luck from 25 yards moments later.

Central defender Dan Scarr did well to stoop and head a pacy Fatawu cross from the right away at the near post as Leicester continued to press or an equaliser.

Fatawu’s next cross from the right – after 56 minutes – found striker Patson Daka and his deft near-post touch beat Cooper but spun past the far upright.

Daka’s last action was firing wide when well placed at the far post after 67 minutes. He was replaced by former England international striker Jamie Vardy.

With just over 15 minutes remaining, Wout Faes’ cross from the right was smashed towards goal by Mavididi but again, Cooper was equal to the effort.

Cooper made an even better stop, bravely diving in to deny Vardy as the Leicester striker broke into the box, one-on-one, in the 88th minute but the hosts held on for the much-needed victory.

Tiger Woods completed 23 holes in a day to make a record 24th consecutive cut in the Masters on another windswept day at Augusta National.

Woods had to shield his face from sand whipped from the bunkers on the 18th before tapping in for par to add a second round of 72 to his opening 73, a remarkable effort which prompted a standing ovation from the spectators around the green.

“I’ve been lucky enough to have been able to play this event for all these years,” Woods told ESPN.

“I did miss the cut as an amateur, but as a pro I’ve done well. It’s just an amazing aura that Augusta National has and I’ve been lucky enough coming here since I was 19 years old.”

Woods was one of 27 players unable to complete their first rounds on Thursday following a lengthy weather delay, the 15-time major winner covering his first 13 holes in one under par.

Play resumed at 0750 local time (1250BST) on Friday and Woods bogeyed the 14th following a clumsy chip from short of the green before scrambling for par on the 15th after another misjudged approach.

Woods then left birdie putts on the 16th and 17th short of the hole before dropping a shot on the last after failing to get up and down from a greenside bunker.

That gave the 48-year-old an opening 73 and just 49 minutes to rest, refuel or practise before he got his second round got under way with two pars and a birdie on the third.

Woods bogeyed the par-three fourth after missing the green with his approach and dropped another shot on the fifth after finding a bunker off the tee but made amends in style by chipping in for birdie on the sixth.

A rollercoaster round continued with a bogey on the seventh and a birdie on the par-five eighth, followed by just a third par of the round on the ninth after hitting his approach into the spectators right of the green.

The back nine was a quieter affair with seven pars, one birdie and one bogey all adding up to yet another weekend of action at Augusta.

“It’s been a long day,” Woods said with a smile. “It was a good fight, we did really well out there and I’m still right there in the ball game with a great chance going into the weekend

“This golf course will expose any weaknesses you have, the greens are quick right now and this wind is all over the place. It was a great test.”

Coming into the week, Woods had played fewer than five-and-a-half competitive rounds since undergoing ankle surgery in April last year after withdrawing from the Masters during the third round.

He returned to action in the Hero World Challenge in December and completed all 72 holes, but was forced to withdraw from the Genesis Invitational in February due to illness after six holes of the second round.

Playing alongside Woods, Max Homa added a 71 to his opening 67 to set the clubhouse target on six under par, with Bryson DeChambeau eight under after 13 holes of his round.

Merseyside Police said eight men were arrested at Aintree on Friday, including four on suspicion of affray and two on suspicion of assault.

A fashionable crowd totalling 44,687 enjoyed an afternoon on what was Ladies Day, but the meeting also saw fighting break out.

Well-dressed racegoers flocked to the Liverpool course for the second day of the Randox Grand National Festival, with celebrities including Olympian Sam Quek among those enjoying the event.

But the day also saw the arrests of a group of men after reports of a fight. Merseyside Police said four men had been arrested on suspicion of affray and two men were held on suspicion of assault after an altercation outside the Princess Royal Stand at 2.25pm.

Another man was detained on suspicion of a drug offence after being searched near the main entrance to the racecourse, while an eighth man was arrested for being drunk and disorderly.

The force also said three drones had been seized after being flown in a restricted area.

Aintree officials passed on their condolences after Giovinco and Pikar suffered fatal injuries in their respective races.

A spokesperson said: “During our first race of the day, Giovinco fell at the last fence and was immediately attended to by our expert veterinary professionals. After assessment, sadly they concluded the necessary course of action for the horse’s welfare was to put him to sleep.

“Pikar sadly passed away following a fall at the second-last hurdle in the last race of the day, having also been attended to on course by our veterinary team. Our heartfelt condolences are with the connections of both horses.”

Last year, the National itself was delayed by about 15 minutes after activists gained access to the track, leading to more than 100 arrests.

Merseyside Police has warned it will deal “robustly” with any incidences of “anti-social behaviour, hate crime, disorder and other criminal activity” at the racecourse and punters have been subject to security checks, including bag searches.

About 80,000 people are expected to attend the course on Saturday.

Alex Davies hit a maiden double century as Warwickshire piled on the runs on the opening day of their Vitality County Championship encounter with Durham at Edgbaston.

Fellow opener Rob Yates also cracked 191 in an extraordinary first-wicket partnership of 343 with outstanding skipper Davies, whose unbeaten 226 came from 274 balls with 25 fours and three sixes.

To compound the misery for promoted Durham, who had won the toss, Will Rhodes reached 60 not out to take the hosts past maximum batting points and to 490 for one before the close.

Champions Surrey took command against Somerset at The Oval despite a century from Tom Lammonby.

Lammonby (100) and Matt Renshaw (87) got Somerset off to a fine start by putting on 178 for the second wicket but the loss of seven wickets for 20 runs undermined their efforts.

Captain Lewis Gregory (50) lifted the score to 285 but Cameron Steel (four for 50) wrapped up the innings before Surrey openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley chiselled 42 off the lead without loss.

Joe Clarke continued his excellent start to the season with another century as Nottinghamshire closed on 305 for six against Worcestershire at Trent Bridge.

Following up his ton against Essex last week, Clarke hit 105 and shared in a third-wicket stand of 133 with Ben Slater (70) as the hosts recovered from the loss of two early wickets.

Dean Elgar (120) scored his first Essex century and Matt Critchley (103no) also reached three figures against Kent at Chelmsford.

Jordan Cox added 67 and Michael Pepper 49 as the hosts amassed 421 for six at stumps.

Hampshire were 305 for six at the end of day one against Lancashire at the Utilita Bowl.

Liam Dawson was unbeaten on 61 after solid efforts from Tom Prest (85), James Vince (56) and Nick Gubbins (50).

Australia’s Nathan Lyon (two for 97) bowled 32 overs as Lancashire kept themselves in the game.

In Division Two, spinner Alex Thomson took a career-best seven for 65 as Derbyshire bowled out Glamorgan for 287 in Cardiff. Kiran Carlson was the hosts’ top-scorer with 74.

Derbyshire were 46 for one in response.

Emilio Gay’s unbeaten 165 helped Northamptonshire to 311 for three against Middlesex at Wantage Road. Captain Luke Procter added 73 in a second-wicket partnership of 189.

Pakistan captain Shan Masood’s 140 was the mainstay of Yorkshire’s 326 against Gloucestershire at Bristol. Jonathan Tattersall (58) and Matt Milnes (51) also contributed but Zaman Akhter’s five for 89 helped the hosts hit back before they ended the day on 28 for two.

Liam Trevaskis was 82 not out as Leicestershire closed on 326 for eight against Sussex at Grace Road. Rishi Patel (87) and Peter Handscomb (51) also hit half-centuries.

Leicester will definitely not face a points deduction in this season’s Championship over the Premier League charge they face for allegedly breaching top-flight financial rules, the EFL has confirmed.

The EFL said its rules as currently written do not give it the power to apply any points penalty that may be ordered by an independent commission formed under Premier League auspices.

Leicester, who are involved in a three-way automatic promotion battle with Leeds and Ipswich, had sought an interim injunction to prevent any sporting sanction such as a points deduction being applied this season, but that application has been dismissed after the EFL’s confirmation it had no power to apply the penalty in any event.

A legal decision related to the injunction application published on Friday evening shows the Premier League initially sought an expedited process, and that its lawyers wrote to the chair of its independent judicial panel to say it was imperative the whole case – including any appeal – was concluded before the end of the Championship regular season on May 4.

The Premier League letter to its judicial panel came after a letter from EFL chief executive Trevor Birch to his Premier League counterpart Richard Masters, prior to the charge being issued, saying the EFL would “seek to respect” any decision ordering a points penalty and apply it to the Championship standings.

According to the written decision, in the same letter Birch urged the Premier League that, in the event it sought a points deduction in the current season, it should do so urgently to ensure it could be applied before the end of the Championship regular season on May 4.

The legal decision states that the Premier League wrote to the club’s lawyers on March 26 to say it would no longer seek to expedite the proceedings, because the EFL no longer maintained its position that it would seek to apply any points deduction in the Championship.

That means the case is extremely unlikely to be concluded until next season, and that any points penalty will only apply immediately if, by the point the hearing concludes, Leicester are a Premier League club again.

The decision reveals that Leicester had accused the EFL of “conspiring with the Premier League to use unlawful means and to procure or induce a breach of contract by the Premier League”.

The club are understood to remain extremely disappointed with the way they feel the EFL has acted.

The Foxes were charged with breaching the top flight’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) on March 21 in relation to the assessment period ending with the 2022-23 season, when they were still a Premier League club.

The club issued “urgent legal proceedings” on March 22 against that charge, and against an EFL transfer embargo.

Earlier this month, Leicester announced a loss of £89.7million for the 2022-23 season.

Dundee manager Tony Docherty kept his “laser focus” on Saturday’s trip to Pittodrie as he dodged questions about the Dens Park pitch and the controversy over the second postponement of their game with Rangers.

Docherty’s side will clinch a cinch Premiership top-six place if they beat Aberdeen and a draw would suffice if Motherwell get a result against Hibernian at Fir Park.

Defeat for Dundee would put off confirmation of the make-up of the top and bottom six until the game with Rangers finally goes ahead.

The match is now scheduled for Wednesday, but alternatives are being discussed between the clubs and the Scottish Professional Football League.

When asked what state the pitch was in following the latest call-off on Wednesday due to a waterlogged surface, Docherty said in a media conference: “I really don’t know. I’ve not been anywhere near the pitch. We are in the Gardyne training facility and that’s where I have been for the last two days preparing for the Aberdeen game on Saturday.”

Rangers accused Dundee of “negligence” after the postponement and Hibernian are reported to have complained to the SPFL given Docherty’s side may go into their final pre-split game knowing what they need to achieve.

The Dundee manager refused to get involved in the furore.

“In my capacity as football manager, all I can affect is my role as football manager and it’s incumbent upon me to make sure I prepare a team for the matches that are upcoming,” he said.

“So anything outwith that, I can’t affect other teams, I can’t comment on other teams, I wouldn’t comment on other teams.”

When asked about the prospect of facing Rangers at a neutral venue next Wednesday, Docherty said: “There is nothing I can do about that, I can’t affect that. I can affect the Aberdeen game and that’s where my laser focus is. Nothing can distract us from that.”

Dundee’s previous game against Motherwell was the subject of similar uncertainty and talks over alternative venues and dates before it went ahead following a late inspection last Saturday, the visitors winning 3-2 after Dundee went 2-0 up.

Docherty said: “Of course it can be unsettling because you prepare for every game. We have had five call-offs. You prepare for every game in terms of game plan, selection of players. But players quickly move on and I quickly move on. That’s gone now, that’s in the past.

“It’s incumbent upon me as manager to make sure there is a laser focus now towards the Aberdeen game and that’s what me, my players and my staff have got. The next game is the most important game and something that we are very focused on.

“It’s huge testament to this group of players, as the newly-promoted team and the youngest squad in the league… Seventeen of the squad have made their Premiership debut this season, of that 11 are under 21. It’s huge testament to the group that we are a win away from that (top six) and it’s advantage us because it’s in our hands.

“I need to give them great praise for that and I want to see them sprint across that finish line.”

Newcastle have launched a new initiative which will allow deaf supporters to “feel” the atmosphere of games at St James’ Park.

The Premier League club have brought out a new haptic replica shirt which, when worn at matches, will vibrate in response to crowd noises.

The technology, which utilises microphones placed around the ground, will be used for the first time as the Magpies host Tottenham in the Premier League on Saturday.

It is a world first in sport but similar systems have been used successfully in other areas of entertainment, particularly classical music concerts.

Former Newcastle midfielder Rob Lee, who is an ambassador for the project, told the PA news agency: “It’s very difficult as someone who can hear to imagine what it’s like going to a game when you’re deaf.

“Football is an experience of sound really. It’s the crowd cheering, singing songs. When I was playing, you’d run out at St James’ Park and the hairs on the back of your neck would stand up.

“For these guys to be able to experience that through feel is amazing. It’s great technology.”

The shirts have numerous sensors integrated throughout the garment, with each responding in different ways to the different sounds captured by the microphones.

The noises are transformed into digital signals by specialised software and then transmitted wirelessly to the shirts, creating a tactile sensory experience for the wearer.

Newcastle sponsor Sela, the Saudi events company, has been the driving force behind the initiative as part of its “Unsilence the Crowd” campaign.

To mark the system’s launch, Sela has gifted its sponsorship rights for the Spurs game – including its logo space on the front of the shirt – to the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) charity.

The system will be available at all Newcastle home matches from then onwards.

Lee, who made 381 appearances for the Magpies between 1992 and 2002, said: “St James’ Park is an amazing stadium. It’s always full, the atmosphere is always electric.

“Ask any player what’s their favourite ground. I guarantee St James’ will be in the top three because of the atmosphere, because of the sound.

“If we can get that experience out to the deaf and the hard-of-hearing, then it can only be a good thing.

“I think it’ll be a showstopper and every club should get it.”

Tiger Woods was battling to make a record 24th consecutive cut in the Masters on another windswept day at Augusta National.

Woods was one of 27 players unable to complete their first rounds on Thursday following a lengthy weather delay, the 15-time major winner covering his first 13 holes in one under par.

Play resumed at 0750 local time (1250BST) on Friday and Woods bogeyed the 14th following a clumsy chip from short of the green before scrambling for par on the 15th after another misjudged approach.

Woods then left birdie putts on the 16th and 17th short of the hole before dropping a shot on the last after failing to get up and down from a greenside bunker.

That gave the 48-year-old an opening 73 and just 49 minutes to rest, refuel or practise before he got his second round got under way with two pars and a birdie on the third.

Woods bogeyed the par-three fourth after missing the green with his approach and dropped another shot on the fifth after finding a bunker off the tee but made amends in style by chipping in for birdie on the sixth.

A rollercoaster round continued with a bogey on the seventh and a birdie on the par-five eighth, followed by just a third par of the round on the ninth after hitting his approach into the spectators right of the green.

At one over par Woods was two shots inside the early projected cut line, while playing partner Max Homa found himself in the outright lead after an early stumble from Bryson DeChambeau.

Homa, who had birdied the 16th and 17th on his way to completing an opening 67, birdied the second and fourth in round two to improve to seven under par, with DeChambeau following three pars with a bogey on the fourth.

Former champion Jordan Spieth was heading for just his second missed cut in 11 Masters appearances after running up a quadruple-bogey nine on the 15th.

Spieth hit his third shot long, chipped back across the green into the water and, after taking a penalty drop, hit his sixth shot over the green once more.

From there the 2015 winner three-putted and, after eventually signing for an opening 79, remained seven over par midway through his second round.

Open champion Brian Harman had fared even worse, dropping seven shots in the last three holes to post an opening 81.

Emma Raducanu produced a brilliant comeback to stun France’s Caroline Garcia and draw Great Britain level at 1-1 in the Billie Jean King Cup qualifier in Le Portel.

Britain were staring at a 2-0 deficit and almost certain defeat when Raducanu trailed in-form world number 23 Garcia by a set and 2-0 after Katie Boulter had been thumped 6-2 6-0 by Diane Parry.

But Raducanu, back in the team for the first time in two years after injury, showed once again what makes her a hugely special talent by fighting back to claim a 3-6 6-3 6-2 victory for her first top-30 win on clay.

Speaking on the BBC, the former US Open champion said: “I was completely the underdog, especially going out here in her house, on clay. I definitely turned it around. I fought really hard, I dug in.

“That was a really good test for myself because I hadn’t had those level matches very often. I’m very pleased with my performance and I’m very, very happy to bring this point home for the team and go into tomorrow 1-1.”

The 21-year-old is inexperienced on clay but said again ahead of the tie that she feels it could be a good surface for her, and this was her best victory for more than a year.

The power of Garcia, who recently defeated Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka at the Miami Open, helped her edge a high-quality opening set, and the 30-year-old looked in control when she broke serve again to start the second.

But Raducanu, who beat Garcia in Indian Wells in 2022 before losing to her at Wimbledon, met fire with fire, dialling up the aggression on her forehand in particular and turned the momentum around with a run of five games in a row.

She had to show her gritty side when Garcia threatened a comeback of her own but the Frenchwoman appeared on the verge of tears during the deciding set as Raducanu kept her foot on the gas.

The Kent player, ranked 302, saw the funny side after she celebrated a game short of victory at 5-1, but she kept her head impressively and looked delighted when a final volley earned her the spoils.

“It was quite embarrassing,” said Raducanu of her mistake. “All I was thinking was, ‘If I lose this right now, I’m going to look like a right muppet’. I’m very happy that I managed to pull it through.”

Earlier, Boulter’s inexperience on clay showed as she lost 12 games in a row against fast-rising 21-year-old Parry.

Boulter has had an exceptional season so far but this was only the 17th match of her career on clay and her first at tour level.

The British number one, ranked 28, told reporters: “I have to get better on the clay. It’s such a learning experience and it’s a really good learning experience for me.

“I know my base level is there and that I can play some really good stuff. Practice has been awesome. The scoreline was tough but I felt it was a lot closer than it seemed.”

Both captains must decide whether to make changes for Saturday, with Boulter scheduled to take on Garcia first up before Raducanu faces Parry.

Three wins are needed to clinch a place in November’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Seville, and France would be strong favourites if it came down to a deciding doubles.

Leicester will not be deducted Championship points if found to have breached Premier League financial rules before the end of the season, the EFL has announced.

The Foxes were charged with breaching the top flight’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) last month in relation to the assessment period ending with the 2022-23 season, when they were still a Premier League club.

The club issued “urgent legal proceedings” on March 22 against that charge, and against an EFL transfer embargo.

The EFL revealed on Friday that as part of those proceedings, Leicester had sought an interim injunction preventing any sporting sanction – such as a points penalty – being imposed in the current season, with the Foxes battling Leeds and Ipswich for automatic promotion to the Premier League.

However, the EFL has now said that after taking legal advice it does not have the power under its rules as currently drafted to impose any points penalty ordered by an independent commission set up to hear a Premier League charge, and has confirmed that to all parties concerned.

It said Leicester’s application for an injunction was therefore no longer necessary.

There had been no realistic expectation that any points penalty arising from the Premier League charge would end up being applied to this season’s total, given the timescales involved.

Dancing City strutted his way to a cosy success in the Cavani Sartorial Menswear Sefton Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree.

A surprise Grade One winner at the Dublin Racing Festival in February, Willie Mullins’ seven-year-old was third when upped to three miles for the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

Paul Townend’s mount was placed alongside fellow Joe and Marie Donnelly-owned runner Shanagh Bob as the duo tracked the steady pace set by Albert Bartlett runner-up The Jukebox Man and Pertemps second Kyntara.

The tempo was increased turning for home and as Kyntara began to retreat it was Dancing City who appeared in The Jukebox Man’s slipstream travelling menacingly.

Townend stalked his prey down to the final flight, with the rider simply having to keep the 4-1 winner up to his work in the closing stages as the gelding kept on for a five-and-a-half-length triumph, reversing Cheltenham form with The Jukebox Man who bravely held on for second.

Kyntara took a heavy fall at the last, but was thankfully able to walk away.