Barcelona boss Xavi says Eintracht Frankfurt fully deserved their stunning 3-2 victory in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie at Camp Nou on Thursday.
Filip Kostic scored twice, the first of which came from the penalty spot, and Rafael Borre slammed in from long range as the Bundesliga side sealed a memorable 4-3 aggregate win over the Catalan giants, who scored twice in stoppage time through Sergio Busquets' fine strike and a Memphis Depay penalty.
The result ended Barca's 15-game unbeaten run, which was the longest in the top five European leagues, while it was only the second time in their last seven knockout ties in Europe when they have avoided defeat in the first leg that they have been eliminated.
Xavi had no complaints about the result and admitted his side were well off the pace they have set in recent months.
"We scored two goals but we weren't able to attack in the best way," he told a media conference.
"We didn't play as well as in other games and they came out very well on the counter-attack. They had that first penalty that went very well for them and then with a great goal with a silly loss from us on the right.
"We have had control but we haven't generated enough to hurt them, and they have done it with little [of the game]. With a penalty, with a counter from a loss from us and the third comes from a play after we had been pressing.
"They are mistakes that we have paid for. This is what happens in Europe and we leave disappointed.
"It's not a failure. We've tried. It's a disappointment because we had high hopes and we've put everything on the pitch, and in the end Frankfurt won. It's a competition and if there is failure we are going to learn.
"We can only congratulate them because they deserved it."
A significant number of Frankfurt supporters roared their side on, with far more than their allocation of 5,000 present in the stadium.
Xavi says that had an impact on his side and confirmed the club is looking into why there were so many opposition fans.
"The atmosphere hasn't helped us," he added. "We expected some 70,000 or 80,000 people from Catalonia and that hasn't happened. It looked like a final with divided support. I think the club is checking what happened."
Barca are next in action on Monday when they host Cadiz in LaLiga.
Patrick Beverley has been hit with a $30,000 fine for "inappropriate statements" and "egregious use of profanity" after the Minnesota Timberwolves guard aimed salty shots at the Clippers.
The comments from Beverley came after Tuesday's 109-104 win for the T-Wolves in the seven-eight play-in game in the West.
Anthony Edwards played a starring role with 30 points for Minnesota and was interviewed alongside Beverley after the game.
Beverley was excitable after beating his former team. He spent four years on the Clippers before joining Minnesota last August.
"I wanted this so bad," Beverley said. "I wanted this one so bad."
He said his message to the Clippers was: "Take their a** home. Long flight to LA, take y'all a** home.
"It's deeper than that for me. I gave my blood and sweat and tears to that organisation. You guys know the story. Blood, sweat and tears, to just be written off like that, 'oh, he's injury prone, he's old', this, this, that, that.
"To be able to come here, play them in a play-in, beat their a**, there's no other feeling, man, no other feeling."
Beverley also used social media to express similar emotion, with added profanities. NBA chiefs considered he overstepped the line of acceptability.
A league statement on Thursday read: "Minnesota Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley has been fined $30,000 for inappropriate statements during a media interview and on social media, including the egregious use of profanity, it was announced today by Byron Spruell, president, league operations."
It was a second fine inside a week for Beverley, who had a $25,000 punishment imposed for improper conduct to a game official after being ejected from the Timberwolves' April 10 loss to the Chicago Bulls.
Declan Rice has revealed how the antics of Moussa Dembele and a post from Lyon's social media team inspired West Ham to reach the Europa League semi-finals.
Prior to Thursday night's rematch between the sides, footage had circulated of Dembele winking to team-mates after appearing to go down easily to earn Aaron Cresswell a soft first-leg red card.
That decision contributed to the tie being finally poised at 1-1 going into the second leg in France; it also perhaps led to some overconfidence from the hosts.
As much could be seen in a reply from Lyon's official English language account on Twitter to the question of which teams looked best placed to progress this week.
It read: "Are you really asking like there's a chance we don't go through?"
Speaking after a 3-0 win saw the Hammers ease through to the last four, Rice confirmed that both perceived slights had ultimately served as motivation.
He told BT Sport: "There were a few incentives for us to go out there and win.
"Obviously, Dembele winking in the first leg at the camera, and then their Twitter admin saying they don't see how they're not going to get through.
"Those things come back to bite you. We stayed quiet, put in a performance, and now West Ham are in the semis. What more could we want?"
Lyon's belief no doubt stemmed from the knowledge they would have a raucous home crowd cheering them on in the return leg.
However, according to Rice, the atmosphere actually pushed the visitors to play their best game.
England international Rice said: "I feel like if you can't get up for these games then you shouldn't be playing football. The roar from the warm-up was spine-tingling, really. It just really gives you that fire in your stomach to go out and perform.
"[It feels] special, very, very special. We knew it was a tough place to come, we knew they had top individual quality.
"But with what we had on the pitch, our attacking players, and what we saw in the first game in terms of them defensively, we knew we could score goals tonight. For all the fans, it's just such a great night."
Manager David Moyes used his post-match interview to reflect on his team's short journey from relegation battlers to European silverware hopefuls.
Moyes said: "We've got a really good group of lads, I'm really lucky. They've been great in the time we've been here. We were trying to avoid relegation and now we're talking about getting to the semi-final of a European tournament, it's fabulous. I think it's been huge what we've done in two years.
"We've not won any trophies yet, we're trying to compete and qualify for European football again if we can.
"But I think to be getting to the latter stages and beating Sevilla and now Lyon - big clubs, big teams who are used to European football...
"You don't win anything tonight, but it was a big night for us. To come away and win 3-0 in Europe - a really, really good result."
The Dallas Mavericks are expecting Luka Doncic to sit out their playoff opener against the Utah Jazz on Saturday due to a calf strain.
Shams Charania of The Athletic broke the news on Thursday of what will likely prove to be a critical absence for the Mavs.
Doncic strained his left calf in the third quarter of the Mavs' final regular season fixture, a 130-120 win over the San Antonio Spurs, and sat out the rest of the game after putting up 26 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
The two-time All-Star would have been ineligible for the game had the NBA not rescinded his 16th technical foul of the season, which he earned in the game prior against the Portland Trailblazers. Doncic would have been forced to serve a one-game suspension if the technical foul had stood.
Though the win over the Spurs was ultimately a meaningless game, with the Golden State Warriors defeating the New Orleans Pelicans and confirming the Western Conference's third seed, the Mavs still had to keep up their end of the bargain and beat the Spurs.
The 23-year-old Slovenian averaged 28.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game this season.
Steph Curry is likely to return for Game 1 of the Golden State Warriors' first-round series against the Denver Nuggets, after missing the home stretch of the regular season with a foot sprain.
The two-time MVP and three-time NBA Champion is averaging 25 points, six assists and five rebounds this season in 64 games – his most games played since the 2018-19 season.
Curry is essential to the Warriors' success, as illustrated by their 8-10 record in games he has missed this season, compared to 45-19 when he has played.
Golden State head coach Steve Kerr spoke about how everyone is desperate to get the star guard back on the court, but the organisation will not rush him back before he has proven his readiness.
"We're not going to play him without getting a scrimmage," he said.
"The whole team will need a scrimmage, given that we generally play every other day and now we have six days between games, that's pretty unique.
"But it would be irresponsible to put Steph out there in a playoff game without having scrimmage time before."
Kerr also suggested that if Curry is to suit up in Game 1, he will be on a minutes restriction, saying he won't play "30, 35 minutes", and may come off the bench.
Curry's 'Splash Brother', Klay Thompson, also weighed in on the status of his team-mate.
"It felt good to play, and Stephen Curry looked like himself," he said. "He just gives everybody a lift with just his presence on the court.
"It was great to have him out there."
A women’s pair of Chauna Kelly and Petal Smith will depart Jamaica on Friday for the Dominican Republic where they will participate in the Beach World Championship Qualifiers from April 16-18, 2022.
Jamaica will play in Group A alongside Canada, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, El Salvador and Curacao. Group B comprises Cuba, Mexico, US Virgin Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica and the Cayman Islands.
Each team will play in a round-robin format with the top two teams from each group advancing to the 2022 Beach Volleyball World Championship which will take place in Rome, Italy from June 7th to 19th, 2022.
Jamaica is resuming competition in beach volleyball after a two-year hiatus prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The team will be accompanied by Coach Oneil Ebanks.
Kemar Roofe scored an extra-time winner as Rangers secured their place in the Europa League semi-finals with a 3-1 victory over nine-man Braga, who lost 3-2 on aggregate.
James Tavernier's first-half double, including a penalty awarded after Vitor Tormena was dismissed for a foul on Roofe, put Rangers in control with a 2-1 aggregate lead.
David Carmo's 83rd-minute header sent the tie into extra-time before Roofe, who had two goals disallowed, netted the decisive strike prior to Iuri Medeiros being given his marching orders.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst's men will next face RB Leipzig, who defeated Atalanta 3-1 on aggregate on Thursday, with the first leg of the last-four clash coming on April 28.
Rangers struck first when Tavernier rolled underneath Matheus at the back post after a deflection from Joe Aribo following Borna Barisic's cross.
The hosts were in dreamland three minutes later when Roofe headed home another delivery from Barisic, only for the goal to be ruled out for handball against the full-back.
Roofe then fired against the crossbar from point-blank range following Aribo's flick from a Tavernier corner as Rangers continued to dominate, and their reward arrived soon after.
Tormena was shown red for felling Roofe when through on goal, with Tavernier converting the penalty down the middle.
Roofe saw another strike ruled out in the second half, this time for offside, after chipping Matheus, before Carmo levelled with a powerful header from Medeiros' corner.
Conor Goldson nodded wide in the closing stages before extra-time, where Roofe latched onto Aribo's low cross to turn home from close range.
Medeiros was shown two yellow cards in quick succession for a foul on Leon Balogun and his subsequent riled reaction, before Scott Arfield hit the crossbar, but that miss did not come back to haunt Rangers.
What does it mean? Rangers overcome knockout specialists Braga
Braga had progressed from their previous nine ties in the UEFA Cup and Europa League when winning the first leg, with eight of those previous nine victories coming in home matches.
But Rangers ended that stellar record as they battled valiantly to overturn a first-leg deficit in Europe's secondary club competition for the third time in their last four attempts.
Now, Van Bronckhorst's men must overcome in-form Bundesliga side Leipzig to reach the final.
Terrific Tavernier
Tavernier offered Rangers the perfect start when he netted their fastest goal in the competition after just 71 seconds, and it was also the earliest Braga have conceded in the Europa League.
The hosts' captain then added his second from 12 yards as he became the joint-top scorer in this season's competition (six). No Rangers player has ever scored more in a single European campaign (also Alfredo Morelos in 2019-20 and James Forrest in 1964-65).
Vitor Tormen-ted
Tormena handed Rangers the perfect opportunity to take the aggregate lead by barging through the back of Roofe when he was one-on-one with Matheus.
Not only was the left-back given his early marching orders, but he also gave away possession the most times before his dismissal (eight) and was unsuccessful in all of his three duels.
Medeiros' red then made matters worse as Braga became the first side since Rangers last season to have two players sent off in the same knockout game in the competition.
What's next?
Rangers return to domestic action with an Old Firm clash against Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-finals on Sunday, while Braga visit Estoril the following day.
Eintracht Frankfurt produced a stunning performance as they reached the Europa League semi-finals with a 3-2 second-leg victory over Barcelona at Camp Nou on Thursday.
The two sides played out a 1-1 draw in Germany last week, and any thoughts Xavi's men had of brushing aside their opponents on home turf were dispelled in the fourth minute when Filip Kostic scored from the penalty spot.
Rafael Borre and Kostic added further goals to give the scoreline a scarcely believable look, before a fine Sergio Busquets strike and Memphis Depay penalty reduced the deficit in stoppage time.
But Frankfurt had done enough for a famous 4-3 aggregate win and Oliver Glasner's men will now face West Ham in the last four after they overcame Lyon.
Barca started dismally and fell behind in the fourth minute when Kostic slammed home from the spot after Eric Garcia had hauled down Jesper Lindstrom in the area.
They went 2-0 down in the 36th minute, though, courtesy of a stunning 25-yard strike from Borre that flashed past Marc-Andre ter Stegen and into the roof of the net.
Ansgar Knauff fizzed a strike narrowly over Ter Stegen's crossbar soon after as Frankfurt threatened to put the tie beyond Barca's reach before the interval.
Frankfurt then sent their fans into dreamland when Kostic drilled across Ter Stegen for his second of the game in the 67th minute.
Busquets thundered home from outside the penalty area in stoppage time moments after having an effort ruled out by VAR for offside, before Depay scored from the spot with almost the last kick of the game after Evan Ndicka had clattered into Luuk de Jong.
What does it mean? Barca's unbeaten run comes to a crashing halt
Few expected Barca's 15-game unbeaten streak to come to an end against a team languishing ninth in the Bundesliga, but Frankfurt were excellent value for their win.
Glasner's side, who had 15 shots to Barca's 10, are now unbeaten in their last 10 games against Spanish sides in European competition (W6 D4), including the last five away from home (W4 D1).
Kostic's game to remember
Kostic started and ended the scoring for Frankfurt, while he also played the key pass before Borre's glorious strike. That made him the first player to score and assist in a single European game against Barcelona at Camp Nou since Juninho Pernambucano for Lyon in March 2009 in the Champions League.
Barca's spot-kick woes continue
Garcia's early penalty concession was Barca's fourth in their last two games – as many as in their previous 55 matches in all competitions. Indeed, Kostic's penalty was the earliest conceded by the Catalan giants in all competitions since the 2004-05 season.
What's next?
Barca will need to lift themselves when they host Cadiz in LaLiga on Monday, while a buoyant Frankfurt visit Union Berlin in the Bundesliga a day earlier.
West Ham cruised into a first European semi-final in 46 years as they beat Lyon 3-0 in the Europa League.
Goals from Craig Dawson, Declan Rice and Jarrod Bowen secured a surprisingly comfortable 4-1 aggregate success in France, setting up a last-four meeting with Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Germans were, in fact, the opposition the last time the Hammers reached this stage of continental competition - that tie coming en route to defeat in the final of the 1976 edition of the Cup Winners' Cup.
But there will be hopes of going one better in Europe over four decades on after such a convincing win against elite opposition.
With Lyon supporters creating an intimidating atmosphere pre-match, West Ham wasted little time in showing they would not be cowed, Pablo Fornals bursting in behind to shoot wide with just 15 seconds on the clock.
But Lyon responded well, Karl Toko Ekambi smashing the post after quick feet in the box before Houssem Aouar saw a shot blocked on the line.
The hosts were also controlling possession, and so when Ekambi kneed a Malo Gusto cross goalward soon after, it felt like the opener was coming.
Unfortunately for Lyon, it was at the other end, with sheer desire from Dawson allowing him to beat all others to a near-post Fornals corner and head home.
Not content to sit on their lead, West Ham then doubled the advantage before the break as a low Rice shot from the edge of the box found the back of the net after taking a nick off Castello Lukeba.
That late blow prompted Peter Bosz to roll the dice, Lucas Paqueta and Mateus Tete coming on at half-time to replace Tanguy Ndombele and Romain Faivre.
But there was to be no quick fix, with Bowen breaking free just three minutes after the restart and producing a cool right-footed finish to all but settle the tie.
Lyon did not stop trying to make things interesting from there on in, their best chance seeing Gusto force Alphonse Areola to push a powerful shot around the post.
But a first failure to trouble the scoresheet at home in the Europa League since the 2013-14 season ultimately ensured that West Ham had little trouble seeing out the win.
What does it mean? West Ham deserve to dream
With the tie delicately poised at 1-1 and Lyon sure to be roared on by an enthusiastic home crowd, this game felt like a major test of an inexperienced West Ham side's European credentials.
But the ease with which they passed it can only provide a major boost to belief among David Moyes' squad that something special is in the offing this season.
Ndombele struggles
After failing to pull up any trees during his time in the Premier League, Ndombele might have hoped to make a point with his performance against English opposition here.
But the midfielder won just 40 per cent of his five duels and surrendered possession on five occasions before being hooked at half-time.
Fornals a creative star
It feels unfair to highlight any one player after West Ham performed so impressively from front to back against top-level opposition.
However, Fornals' influence on both sides of the ball can be fairly summed up by his team-high 66 touches, two assists, and four interceptions.
What's next?
West Ham return to Premier League action on Sunday when they host struggling Burnley. Lyon, meanwhile, face Bordeaux at home on the same day.
Eintracht Frankfurt produced a stunning performance as they reached the Europa League semi-finals with a remarkable 3-0 second-leg victory over Barcelona at Camp Nou on Thursday.
The two sides played out a 1-1 draw in Germany last week, and any thoughts Xavi's men had of brushing aside their opponents on home turf were dispelled in the fourth minute when Filip Kostic scored from the penalty spot.
It got even better for the visitors before the break when Borre crashed home from outside the penalty area, before Kostic's second in the 67th minute put the seal on one of the club's most famous ever victories.
Oliver Glasner's men will now face West Ham in the last four after they overcame Lyon.
Barca started dismally and fell behind in the fourth minute when Kostic slammed home from the spot after Eric Garcia had hauled down Jesper Lindstrom in the area.
Ronald Araujo forced a smart stop from Kevin Trapp with an instinctive volley shortly before the midway point of the first half as Barca belatedly woke from their slumber.
They went 2-0 down in the 36th minute, though, courtesy of a stunning 25-yard strike from Borre that flashed past Marc-Andre ter Stegen and into the roof of the net.
Ansgar Knauff fizzed a strike narrowly over Ter Stegen's crossbar soon after as Frankfurt threatened to put the tie beyond Barca's reach before the interval.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang inexplicably failed to force Ousmane Dembele's cross home from close range, before Ter Stegen denied Lindstrom after a rapid counter-attacking move at the other end.
Frankfurt then ensured the scoreline had a scarcely believable look when Kostic drilled across Ter Stegen for his second of the game.
What does it mean? Barca's unbeaten run comes to a crashing halt
Few expected Barca's 15-game unbeaten streak to come to an end against a team languishing ninth in the Bundesliga, but Frankfurt were excellent value for their win.
Glasner's side, who had xx shots to Barca's xx, are now unbeaten in their last 10 games against Spanish sides in European competition (W6 D4), including the last five away from home (W4 D1).
Kostic's game to remember
Kostic started and ended the scoring for Frankfurt, while he also played the key pass before Borre's glorious strike. That made him the first player to score and assist in a single European game against Barcelona at Camp Nou since Juninho Pernambucano for Lyon in March 2009 in the Champions League.
Barca's spot-kick woes continue
Garcia's early penalty concession was Barca's fourth in their last two games – as many as in their previous 55 matches in all competitions. Indeed, Kostic's penalty was the earliest conceded by the Catalan giants in all competitions since the 2004-05 season.
What's next?
Barca will need to lift themselves when they host Cadiz in LaLiga on Monday, while a buoyant Frankfurt visit Union Berlin in the Bundesliga a day earlier.
Christopher Nkunku scored twice in Bergamo as RB Leipzig's 2-0 win over Atalanta carried the in-form Bundesliga side through to the Europa League semi-finals.
The France striker was on hand to tuck home an early chance, a predator's goal, and his late penalty sealed a 3-1 aggregate triumph, raising the possibility of Leipzig lifting a first European trophy in their history.
Head coach Domenico Tedesco has transformed Leipzig's fortunes since replacing Jesse Marsch in December and the German visitors had too much for their Italian hosts here.
After seven goals in the Champions League this season, Nkunku now has three in this competition. Two years after a Champions League semi-final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, the German outfit are back at the business end of a European campaign.
Atalanta's Davide Zappacosta drew a decent early save from Leipzig captain Peter Gulacsi, who got down well to block a low shot at his near post.
Leipzig then took the all-important 18th-minute lead when Konrad Laimer was allowed to run 50 yards unchallenged along the right flank and into the Atalanta penalty area, before cutting back for Nkunku to smash in off the right post from close range.
Dani Olmo had a chip comfortably caught by Juan Musso as Leipzig sought a second goal, while at the other end a low shot from Jeremie Boga was blocked.
Atalanta wanted a penalty early in the second half when Ruslan Malinovskiy's powerful free-kick hit Olmo on the arm, and it looked a credible shout, yet the hosts were denied after a VAR review.
Laimer almost added a second for Leipzig when a rapid counter-attack ended with Musso seemingly making a mess of reading his defenders' intentions, having to scramble to keep the lead down to one goal.
Nkunku was sharp for Leipzig and wriggled through to create a chance for himself as Musso blocked at the cost of a corner. As Atalanta became increasingly desperate, a foul by Musso on Nkunku gave the striker a chance to finish the tie, which he took by firing high into the left corner.
Gujarat Titans leapfrogged Rajasthan Royals at the top of the Indian Premier League as captain Hardik Pandya starred in a comfortable 37-run win.
Things looked bleak for the Titans when they saw their top order dominated early on, but Hardik's magnificent 87 helped them to 192-4, before the Gujarat attack blitzed their rivals midway through the Royals innings.
Lockie Ferguson and Yash Dayal finished with three wickets apiece as the Royals could only muster 155-9 in reply, sending the Titans two points clear at the top of the IPL table.
The Titans elected to bat after winning the toss but made a dreadful start when both Matthew Wade (12) and Vijay Shankar (2) went early on, the former being run out by Rassie van der Dussen and the latter caught by Sanju Samson.
They steadied themselves to reach 53 before Shubman Gill was dismissed for 11 in the sixth over, before captain Hardik, supported well by Abhinav Manohar (43) and David Miller (31 not out) dragged them back into contention with an outstanding batting display.
Hardik was undoubtedly the star of the show, his 87 off 52 balls almost single-handedly setting a difficult target of 192 as the Royals attack struggled in the absence of fast bowler Trent Boult.
Jos Buttler (52) drove Rajasthan to a decent start with the bat, hitting eight fours and three sixes either side of partner Devdutt Padikkal being dismissed for nought with the very first ball he faced.
Replacement Ravichandran Ashwin went for eight shortly after and the wickets began to tumble in quick fashion once Buttler was finally bowled out by Ferguson, with Samson (11), Van der Dussen (6), and Shimron Hetmyer (29) all walking for the addition of 60 runs.
The below-par Royals eventually lost nine wickets without threatening the target of 193, as Ferguson and Dayal helped themselves to three dismissals each.
Hardik drives Titans with spectacular display
Hardik's brilliant display with the bat drove the Titans to a strong position after a difficult start, falling just five runs short of recording his best IPL showing with a haul of 87.
Debutant Dayal blitzes poor Royals
Three wickets from Dayal on his Titans debut, as well as three from Ferguson, made the win more comfortable than it could have been, with the Royals' final three wickets falling for just 17 runs.
Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas progressed to the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters with straight sets wins on Thursday, remaining on course for a final meeting.
Last year's runner-up Andrey Rublev, however, missed out on a last-eight spot after falling to a three-set defeat against Jannik Sinner.
World number three Zverev overcame Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta 6-2 7-5 to progress in Monaco, where he is seeking to win the sixth ATP 1000 title of his career.
"For the second clay-court match of the season, I can't complain too much," the 24-year-old second seed said on court after sealing the victory.
"Yes, I lost focus a little bit in the second set, but at the end of the day, he's somebody that can really play. I'm happy with a two-set win."
Tsitsipas (3) remains in contention for a second consecutive title in the principality after defeating Laslo Dere 7-5 7-6 (7-1) and will face off against 12th seed Diego Schwartzman for a semi-final spot after the Argentine defeated Lorenzo Musetti in a hard-fought three-set encounter.
There will be no repeat of 2021's final between Tsitsipas and Rublev, however, after the Russian fell to a thrilling 5-7 6-1 6-3 loss to ninth seed Sinner in the day's final contest.
The other seed to fall victim to a shock in the last 16 was world number seven Casper Ruud, losing 6-3 7-5 to Grigor Dimitrov, who will face Poland's Hubert Hurkacz in the last eight.
Finally, Novak Djokovic's conqueror Alejandro Davidovich Fokina cruised past David Goffin 6-4 6-1 to set up a quarter-final tie with the United States' Taylor Fritz, who bested compatriot Sebastian Korda – with whom he played doubles with in Monte Carlo – in straight sets.
Antonio Conte claimed Champions League qualification would be life-changing for Tottenham ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash with Brighton and Hove Albion.
Conte also reiterated, however, that Tottenham face a difficult challenge to secure a place in Europe's premier competition, insisting another four clubs were also competing for fourth spot.
Spurs have won four consecutive league games to move into the Premier League's top four, the last two of those by four goals (a 5-1 win over Newcastle United and a 4-0 victory at Aston Villa). Another four-goal win would make Conte's team the first side to win three successive Premier League games by four goals since Manchester City in September 2017.
Tottenham will be confident of extending their excellent form against the Seagulls, who have lost on all four of their Premier League trips to Spurs. Only against Bournemouth (five wins from five) do Spurs have a better 100 per cent home record in the competition.
Ahead of Saturday's clash, Conte said watching this week's Champions League fixtures really brought home how important it is for his side to mix it with Europe's elite.
"The Champions League is a competition that every club, every player, every manager wants to play and for this reason it's important to have this great goal," Conte said.
"[It] changes your life if next season you are going to play in the Champions League, instead of playing UEFA [Europa] League, [Europa] Conference League, or nothing.
"The team is ready to fight until the end in this race. This race is not easy. It's very, very important to finish in the top four in England because it means that you have reached a great result for the club.
"Yesterday and two days ago we watched how important it is to play in the Champions League and how fascinating these games [are]. I'm sure that in my players there is a great desire to be protagonists in this competition.
"But we know very well that there are other teams that are really strong, Arsenal, [Manchester] United, West Ham, Wolverhampton, that they are in the same race with us, but we want to fight until the end, and we'll see what happens at the end of the season."
In-form Tottenham have scored at least twice in each of their last seven Premier League games – only once have they had a longer such run, doing so in 11 consecutive games between September and December 2011.
Conte conducted his media duties in person after his positive COVID-19 test had originally forced the club to plan a remote news conference, and was confident that having to distance from his players had not impacted Spurs' preparations.
"I had mild symptoms after the game against Aston Villa on Saturday," he added. "Mild pain in the throat, then I wanted to have a COVID-19 test, and I was positive.
"Now I'm well, and it's okay. I attended training sessions this week from a distance because I didn't want to take any risks with the players.
"My staff did a really good job, I trust in my staff, they are well prepared. The situation is under control. I'll be okay for Saturday, I'll be on the bench, in my place."
Conte was also asked about the condition of Matt Doherty, who will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury sustained at Villa Park last Saturday.
The Italian called the absence of Doherty, whose six league goal involvements this season (two goals, four assists) can only be bettered by four Spurs players, "really bad news" but expressed his confidence in the other options in his squad.
"This is really bad news for us because, as you know well, Matthew was improving game by game and becoming a really important player for us," Conte added. "He had great confidence. But, in football, this kind of situation can happen.
"It's a pity, a pity for him, and we are very disappointed. Now, we have to find the best solution. We have Emerson [Royal], Sergio Reguilon, [Ryan] Sessegnon in the squad, and we have to try to do our best until the end of the season."
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