Al Riffa is on course to return to France for his seasonal reappearance, with the Prix Ganay the starting point for a campaign Joseph O’Brien hopes will yield big-race success.

A Group One winner at two, the son of Wootton Bassett stamped himself among the top juveniles in Ireland when winning the Vincent O’Brien National Stakes in 2022.

Amongst the leading fancies for the following year’s Irish 2,000 Guineas, he missed the early part of the season and following a low-key comeback at the Curragh took on the might of Ace Impact in the Prix Guillaume d’Ornano at Deauville.

Although vanquished by Jean Claude-Rouget’s superstar – who would go on to retire unbeaten after victory in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe – Al Riffa was beaten less than a length.

That was his final start as a three-year-old with a stone bruise ruling the colt out of the Irish Champion Stakes.

However, he has been kept in training and will head to ParisLongchamp for his return to action on April 28, with a Group One victory at four firmly in his sights.

“It was a really nice run at Deauville and the Irish Champion Stakes was going to be his next target but he missed that,” said O’Brien.

“We’re excited about his prospects this season and he’s on target for the Prix Ganay, that’s the plan.

“He’ll have a lot of entries, he’ll be entered in all of those top middle-distance races and we’ll take it race by race.

“We’re hoping he can be a horse that could maybe win a Group One for us this year.”

Manchester United conceded 28 shots for the second-successive Premier League game as they drew 2-2 with Liverpool on Sunday, echoing December’s meeting which somehow finished goalless.

Here, the PA news agency looks at United’s defensive record, with a focus on the clashes against their fiercest rivals.

Frustration for Liverpool

Liverpool have rained 62 shots on United’s goal in the league this season but have turned that into only two goals and two points as Erik ten Hag’s defence continue to defy statistical likelihood.

Jurgen Klopp’s side dominated December’s Anfield encounter with 34 shots to United’s six but only managed eight on target. Andre Onana saved well from Virgil Van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz, but arguably the hosts’ best chance fell to famously-scoreless defender Joe Gomez in the closing stages.

Sunday brough a near repeat of that performance, Liverpool with 28 shots to United’s nine. Again, though, only seven were on target for a total of 15 out of 62 across the two games, scoring only twice with one of those being a Salah penalty.

Throw in another 25 Liverpool attempts in the recent FA Cup tie at Old Trafford – also a 2-2 draw over 90 minutes before United won 4-3 following extra-time – and Liverpool have taken 87 shots in three games against United this season without winning any of them.

Under fire

Having gone 3-2 up on Chelsea last Thursday when Alejandro Garnacho scored in the 67th minute, United allowed their opponents to have the final 10 shots of a madcap game and paid the price as Cole Palmer scored in the 10th and 11th minutes of stoppage-time to complete his hat-trick and win the game.

Liverpool then had 15 without reply in the first half on Sunday and two early in the second period, meaning United had conceded 27 unanswered shots before Bruno Fernandes snapped that streak in style by equalising from 40 yards.

The Old Trafford side have now faced 252 Premier League shots in 2024 – far more than any other club. Brentford (227), West Ham (218), Sheffield United (212) and Luton (209) are the only other teams to face over 200 in that time, with only the Hammers of that quartet currently outside the league’s bottom five.

Chelsea, like Liverpool, had 28 total attempts against Manchester United but followed up with only six against Sheffield United, the league’s bottom club with a similarly wide-open style.

Over the whole season, United have faced 553 shots – just seven fewer than the Blades’ league-high total.

Despite that, the 46 goals Onana has conceded is the sixth-lowest total for any top-flight club this season, behind the top four of Arsenal (24), Liverpool (30), Manchester City (31) and Tottenham (45) as well as Everton (42).

Tyrese Maxey described himself as "blessed" after joining an exclusive club with his 52-point display against the San Antonio Spurs in Sunday's 133-126 overtime win for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Maxey put up his third 50-point performance of the season as the Sixers boosted their hopes of avoiding the Play-In Tournament with a fifth straight win.

He joined Joel Embiid, Allen Iverson and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in franchise history to reach a half-century three times in a single year, with Chamberlain doing so in an NBA-record 45 games in 1961-62.

Asked about the significance of that achievement after the game, Maxey said: "For my little self to be mentioned with those guys, hey, I'm happy, I'm blessed.

"I didn't want to let us lose. I just wanted to do whatever I could, exert all my energy. I could live with the result after that. 

"No matter how tired, no matter how sore, I just wanted to go out there and try to help us win."

Maxey's performance ensured Philadelphia overcame the absence of Embiid, who was rested after playing three straight games upon his return from knee surgery.

Maxey also put up 50 points against the Indiana Pacers in November and 51 versus the Utah Jazz in February. With Embiid also having three 50-point games this year, the Sixers are the first team in NBA history to have multiple players achieve the feat three times in a single campaign. 

Philadelphia forward Nicolas Batum said of Maxey's showing: "We needed that tonight. Tyrese has been amazing for us all year long. 

"We could easily have been like, 'this is not our night', they're playing good, second night of a back-to-back. But no, he didn't give up. He led the way for us. He kept fighting for us."

Philadelphia outscored San Antonio 30-20 through the final nine minutes of regulation, with Maxey's layup tying it up at 111 to force overtime, with the Sixers ultimately prevailing in a second additional period.

Maxey's heroics meant Victor Wembanyama finished on the losing side despite putting up 33 points, 18 rebounds and six assists, the rookie also posting a career-high five 3-pointers.

Batum was pleased to get one over on Wembanyama now, suggesting few teams will be able to stop him once he gains more experience. 

"He's a special man, he's special," Batum said of the number one draft pick. "It was a good call from [Spurs coach Gregg] Popovich when he said this may be his worst season. 

"That is the scariest part, this may be the worst Wemby we are going to see in 15 years! I'm glad I won this one tonight."

Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo bemoaned another poor refereeing decision after he felt James Maddison should have been sent off during their 3-1 loss at Tottenham.

Spurs playmaker Maddison was involved in an off-the-ball incident with Ryan Yates in the 44th minute, which ended with the Forest captain in a heap on the floor.

Yates urged referee Simon Hooper to review the incident and replays showed Maddison did catch the Forest midfielder with a whack to the stomach, but VAR decided not to take action when the score was still 1-1.

Nuno said: “It doesn’t look like he punched him, he punched him. I saw the image and that is why I speak to you.

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“I was surprised that VAR didn’t tell Simon to review it better because honestly with all my respects, Maddison loses his composure and it is a punch in the stomach of Yates.

“It should have been reviewed and a different decision. It is not a shirt with players that looks like nothing happens, no. No, it’s without the ball.

“So, there are two moments we mention (Chris Wood’s miss) in the first half that can change the game.

“I didn’t ask (Hooper), but I saw it. There is no problem in telling I didn’t see it the same way. We didn’t agree, me and VAR.”

Forest could have been ahead by this point but Wood, after he scored for a fourth consecutive match, hit the post from a matter of yards after Guglielmo Vicario had denied Yates in the 34th minute.

Spurs went on to score twice in quick succession after half-time through Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro to end Forest’s three-match unbeaten.

It also ensured Nuno endured an unhappy first return to Tottenham since his 2021 dismissal after only 17 matches in charge.

While the Portuguese described it as a “special” occasion, he insisted his full focus was on 17th-placed Forest improving their survival chances at home to Wolves – another of his old clubs – next week.

“It was a pleasure to work here at Spurs. It was an honour. Things didn’t work out and didn’t finish well. I keep going, Spurs keep on going,” Nuno reflected.

“It was special to come here. It is always special to come to a place where you worked, but it doesn’t take away the focus. My focus is on Forest and we have to do much better next week because we are in a tough fight.”

Inspiral is being prepared for a return in the Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes as owners Cheveley Park Stud look to continue riding a crest of a wave with their all-star mare.

Trained by John and Thady Gosden, the daughter of Frankel ensured she was a Group One winner for the third successive season when landing the Prix Jacques le Marois last summer.

Inspiral soon supplemented that impressive Deauville triumph with further top-level victories in the Sun Chariot Stakes and at the Breeders’ Cup, prompting the decision to keep the leading mare in training at five with Newbury’s one-mile event on May 18 an initial target.

However, if that high-class event comes too soon for the nine-times winner, then she will revert to plan B which, like 12 months ago, involves beginning her campaign at Royal Ascot in June.

“The Lockinge is the plan, but obviously she is a filly that likes to take her time to come in the spring as we’ve seen before,” explained Chris Richardson, managing director of Cheveley Park Stud.

“Certainly the Lockinge looks the first engagement we can consider and if she tells us she’s not quite ready, then we can wait until the Queen Anne.

“She seems to be happy and well back in the yard and I watched her come up Warren Hill the other morning and she went up there nicely and quietly, so we will see how we go.”

Inspiral finished 2023 by successfully stepping up to 10 furlongs at Santa Anita when capturing the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf and although connections are keen to start the new season at a mile, options over further could be explored as the summer goes on.

“I think John is keen to start her off at a mile and then we can build over the campaign hopefully, all being well. We will definitely be considering going a mile and a quarter,” continued Richardson.

“She’s five now and a lovely filly who is still maturing and developing. She had a lovely break at the stud after America and they are a long time in the paddocks, so she is a mare we can really enjoy.

“She had a nice visit to us and was out in the paddock with her usual companions. She is always very inquisitive with her ears pricked, seeing who is coming round the corner next.”

Adam Idah made a scoring Ibrox debut for Celtic in Sunday’s classic 3-3 draw with Rangers and is now looking forward to the final Old Firm league game of the season at Parkhead.

The 23-year-old Republic of Ireland striker, on loan from Norwich since January, replaced Kyogo Furuhashi in the 69th minute with the Hoops leading 2-1 through a Daizen Maeda goal after 21 seconds and a Matt O’Riley penalty in a dominant first-half.

Gers skipper James Tavernier reduced the deficit in the 55th minute from the spot as Rangers fought back.

Substitute Abdallah Sima’s deflected strike in the 86th minute levelled the game but a minute later Celtic broke and Idah drove low past Ibrox keeper Jack Butland for what looked like a winner with his sixth goal for the Hoops.

However, there was one twist remaining as Light Blues substitute Rabbi Matondo curled in the equaliser in the third of eight added minutes to keep Rangers one point behind leaders Celtic.

Philippe Clement’s side have a game in hand against Dundee away on Wednesday night but have still to visit Celtic Park after the split, a fixture which will be played, like at Ibrox, with home fans only in the ground.

Idah told CelticTV: “I was disappointed to not get the winner but look, we got a point at the end of the day and we’re happy with the point.

“Like I said, it’s frustrating not to get all three points but the boys dug in well, dug deep, performed well and we still have to play them at home.

“I thought the boys did excellent from start to finish and to get the early goal was amazing.

“It was crazy, my first time there was amazing. What the boys did without fans was fantastic.

“It was a good experience and now I am looking forward to playing them at home.

“We take each game as it comes now. We’ve got a game next Saturday (St Mirren) and that will be a good test for us and when this next game comes (against Rangers) I’m sure we’ll be ready for it.”

Carlos Sainz is refusing to throw in the towel at such an early stage of the Formula One season – insisting he has “nothing to lose” in his last year at Ferrari.

After Max Verstappen led home a dominant Red Bull one-two in Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said the Dutchman was uncatchable this year.

Having clinched the previous three drivers’ titles, Verstappen is once again the overwhelming favourite to claim the crown.

He has won three of the opening four races, with a brake failure causing him to retire early on at the Australian Grand Prix last month – where Sainz went on to take the chequered flag.

The Spaniard was back in action after missing the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix with appendicitis and, having finished third behind the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Sergio Perez at Suzuka, he was not ready to cede the fight.

In what will be the longest season in F1 history – there are still 20 races left with four having been run – Sainz is hopeful Ferrari can improve across the course of the year, although he also doubted if that would be enough to haul in Verstappen.

“I think they are definitely going to have an advantage in the first third of the season until we bring one or two upgrades that makes us fight them more consistently,” he said.

“By that time, maybe it’s a bit too late with the advantage that they might have on the championship. In the meantime, we need more Australias! Which I don’t see Red Bull, as a team, making these mistakes very often, no.

“It is a shame, because also I missed a race, which for both the team and me, it could be costly in the championship. We’re competing in one race less, but at the same time, we’re going to give it our best shot.

“It’s my last year in Ferrari also, so yeah, nothing to lose and we will try everything to make it back.”

Sainz has lost his seat to Lewis Hamilton from next year, the seven-time world champion moving across to partner Charles Leclerc from 2025 onwards.

Hamilton will be hoping to return to a competitive car, with Mercedes struggling for another season this time around.

The 39-year-old has amassed just 10 points so far – his worst-ever tally after the opening four races of a season.

Wolff labelled Hamilton’s first run on the hard tyres in Japan as “atrocious” and the Brit himself was bullish when asked if he could have improved on his ninth-placed finish.

“I don’t know what the different strategy would have been, whether if we stayed on the mediums to start with, but we still had two really terrible hard tyres to run through,” he said.

“It was a real challenge, I think I picked up a bit of damage at the beginning with Charles (Leclerc) when he came around the outside and I had huge understeer for the first stint.

“I couldn’t turn the car through any of the corners. That’s why I let (team-mate) George (Russell) through.

“The hard tyre was pretty bad, as I said, the medium tyre was much better. So for sure, in hindsight it looks like we should have had two (sets of) medium tyres but in general the car, it was just pretty bad.”

A return to China is next on the calendar, with the Shanghai International Circuit hosting its first grand prix since 2019 and with the first sprint race of the season also taking place.

What the papers say

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe insists he wants to keep Bruno Guimaraes “as long as he can”, reports the Daily Mirror. Paris St Germain are among the clubs interested in the 26-year-old Brazil midfielder.

Luton are increasingly keen on Blackburn striker Sammie Szmodics, according to The Sun. The Premier League club face competition from Brentford for the Republic of Ireland international, 28.

Arsenal have joined the clubs showing interest in young Barcelona defender Mikayil Faye, according to the Daily Mail. Manchester United and Bayern Munich are among the clubs weighing up a summer move for the 19-year-old Senegal defender.

United and Arsenal are also on course for a battle to sign Girona’s Miguel Gutierrez. The Old Trafford club are looking to beat their Premier League rivals to the Spanish left-back, 22, according to the Daily Mirror, via TeamTalk.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Anthony Martial: Inter Milan could target the Manchester United striker, 28, if they fail to lure Iceland forward Albert Gudmundsson, 26, from Genoa, reports Gazzetta dello Sport.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin: Everton will demand more than £40million for the 27-year-old England striker in the summer, according to Football Insider.

Jalen Brunson scored 43 points and helped spark a big second-half rally that catapulted the New York Knicks to a 122-109 win over the spiralling Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.

Both Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo recorded 20 second-half points as the Knicks overcame a 61-50 half-time deficit to hand the Central Division-leading Bucks a season-high fourth straight loss.

Milwaukee has now dropped six of its last seven after winning 11 of its first 15 games after the All-Star break, and its lead over the Knicks and Orlando Magic in the race for the Eastern Conference's No. 2 seed is now down to one game. 

The Bucks did get superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo back from a one-game absence, but forward Khris Middleton did not return after taking an inadvertent elbow to the mouth from DiVincenzo, who finished with 26 points, in the second quarter.

Antetokounmpo, who missed Milwaukee's loss to the non-contending Toronto Raptors on Friday with a sore hamstring, amassed 28 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists. Damian Lillard finished with 23 points for the Bucks, but went just 4 of 11 from the field and 1 of 7 from 3-point range.

Antetokounmpo had 18 first-half points and Lillard 14 as Milwaukee took a double-digit lead into the break, but the Knicks reversed momentum with a red-hot third quarter.

New York shot 73.7 per cent for the period and turned a 10-point deficit into a 70-67 advantage midway through the quarter by embarking on a 14-1 run. 

The Knicks stretched their margin further with a 10-0 spurt early in the fourth quarter that staked them to a 99-87 lead with under nine minutes left.

Milwaukee was able to trim the margin to six points later on but shot just 35 per cent in the fourth quarter, and DiVincenzo helped keep the Bucks at bay by making four 3-pointers in the final period.

Maxey scores career-high 52, 76ers outlast Spurs in double-overtime

Tyrese Maxey gave the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers a needed lift by pouring in a career-high 52 points and leading his team to a hard-earned 133-126 double-overtime win over Victor Wembanyama's San Antonio Spurs.

With Philadelphia resting reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid in the second of a back-to-back and forward Tobias Harris remaining out of the lineup, Maxey notched his third 50-point outing of the season while adding seven assists to will the Sixers to a fifth consecutive win.

Maxey's biggest shot of the night came with time winding down in regulation, when he cut to the basket and took a pass from Nicolas Batum before converting a layup that tied the game at 111-111 with 0.9 seconds on the clock.

The 76ers forced a second overtime with a similar play, as Ricky Council IV found a cutting KJ Martin for a layup with 24.4 seconds to go in the first OT to knot the score at 121-121.

Philadelphia ultimately prevailed by scoring the final 10 points of the second overtime, with Batum delivering the biggest blow with a 3-pointer that put the Sixers up 131-126 with 1:24 left. 

The Spurs were held scoreless after Malaki Branham's 3-pointer broke a 123-123 tie with 3:32 remaining in the second OT, and turned the ball over three times in the final 2:10.

Wembanyama had nine turnovers on the night to offset an otherwise dominant performance from the rookie sensation, who tallied 33 points, 18 rebounds, six assists and seven blocks. 

Branham ended with 22 points, while Kelly Oubre Jr. recorded 26 points on 12-of-22 shooting along with eight rebounds for Philadelphia.

Pelicans down Suns to draw even in West standings

CJ McCollum scored 31 points and Zion Willilamson had 29 to lift the New Orleans Pelicans to a critical 113-105 win over the Phoenix Suns that further clouded the Western Conference's play-off picture.

Williamson added 10 rebounds, seven assists and a career-high five blocks to help New Orleans halt a four-game losing streak and move into a tie with the Suns for sixth place in the West. The top six teams in each conference automatically advance to the quarterfinal round of the postseason, while the seventh through 10th-place finishers will be slotted in the play-in tournament.

Phoenix, which had a three-game winning streak snapped despite 33 points from Bradley Beal, does hold the tie-breaker on New Orleans by winning two of the teams' three meetings this season. Both teams have four games remaining in the regular season. 

The Pelicans never trailed after taking a 97-96 lead on Williamson's layup with 7:19 remaining, though they were unable to pull away until the final stages.

Beal's jumper with 4:02 left to play brought the Suns within 103-101, but Phoenix then went scoreless for nearly two minutes as New Orleans scored the next four points. 

McCollum found WIlliamson for a crucial layup with 29.1 seconds left that gave the Pelicans a 111-105 edge. After Phoenix's Devin Booker misfired on a 3-point try on the ensuing possession, New Orleans' Herb Jones sealed the outcome by making two free throws.

The Pelicans trailed by as many as 12 points in the first quarter, but McCollum tallied 11 points in the second and New Orleans outscored the Suns by a 37-24 margin for the period to go into half-time up 56-50.

New Orleans stretched its lead to 93-83 on Jose Alvarado's 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter, but Beal scored the game's next 10 points to pull Phoenix even.

Booker finished with 25 points but went 0 for 6 from 3-point range. Beal ended 7 of 8 from beyond the arc. 

The Atlanta Braves backed Chris Sale's solid start with three home runs in a 5-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday that completed a three-game series sweep.

Michael Harris II, Matt Olson and Austin Riley all homered to help give Sale his first victory since joining the Braves in an offseason trade with the Boston Red Sox. The seven-time All-Star struck out six in 5 1/3 innings while allowing two runs on four hits.

Harris' solo homer off Ryne Nelson in the bottom of the fourth inning snapped a 2-2 tie, and Riley later provided some breathing room when he followed Ozzie Albies' double in the eighth with a blast into the center field seats off reliever Miguel Castro.

Nelson struck out seven in five innings but permitted three runs to take the loss.

Olson opened the scoring with a solo homer in the second inning, and the Braves loaded the bases later in the frame on three singles before Chadwick Tromp plated Marcell Ozuna with a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead.

Sale set down the first 10 Arizona hitters before Corbin Carroll and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. singled to put runners at first and third in the top of the fourth inning. Carroll would score on a balk from Sale before Christian Walker brought in Gurriel with a game-tying single. 

Walker finished 2 for 4 in the defending NL champion Diamondbacks' fourth straight loss. 

Astros' Blanco dominates again in win over Rangers

Ronel Blanco followed up his no-hitter with six scoreless innings of one-hit ball to lead the Houston Astros to a 3-1 win over the rival Texas Rangers.

Six days after throwing the 17th no-hitter in franchise history to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday, Blanco yielded only a sixth-inning single to Aroldis Garcia while scattering four walks for his second victory in as many starts this season.

Yordan Alvarez supplied all the offence Blanco would need with a three-run homer off Texas starter Dane Dunning in the third inning.

Dunning struck out seven in 6 2/3 innings and encountered his only real trouble in the third, when he issued consecutive walks to Jake Meyers and Jose Altuve before Alvarez belted a pitch into the right field seats.

The Rangers mustered only two hits for the game, with the second coming when pinch-hitter Justin Foscue singled home Garcia with one out in the ninth inning.

Josh Hader shook off the hit to induce a game-ending double play off the bat of Ezequiel Duran to notch his first save since the star closer signed a five-year, $95 million contract with Houston in the offseason.

The defending World Series champion Rangers had won the first two meetings of this four-game series, which concludes Monday. 

Cubs start fast, take series from Dodgers

The Chicago Cubs earned a series win over the Dodgers with Sunday's 8-1 rout that was helped out by a pair of former Los Angeles players, Michael Busch and Cody Bellinger.

Busch smacked a three-run double in the first inning and Bellinger had a solo homer in the sixth as the Cubs took two of three from the defending NL West champions and improved to 6-1 over their last seven games.

Chicago starter Shota Imanaga threw four scoreless innings before being removed due to a weather delay that lasted nearly three hours. The Japanese left-hander has now tossed 10 shutout innings over his first two major league starts.

Imanaga was staked to a quick lead as the Cubs scored three first-inning runs with two outs. With Ian Happ on base via an error by Los Angeles first baseman Freddie Freeman, Christopher Morel singled and Dansby Swanson walked before Busch cleared the bases with his opposite-field double.

Mike Tauchman drew a lead-off walk from Los Angeles starter Gavin Stone in the second and later came around on Seiya Suzuki's sacrifice fly for a 4-0 Chicago lead. Tauchman drove in the Cubs' fifth run with a double in the third, and another Dodgers' error in the fourth led to two more runs and staked the Cubs to a 7-0 advantage.

Stone allowed five runs in three innings, though just one was earned due to two of Los Angeles' three errors on the day.

Bellinger accounted for Chicago's final run with his solo blast off Ryan Yarbrough in the sixth that increased the lead to 8-0.

Shohei Ohtani finished 2 for 4 and drove in the Dodgers' lone run with an eighth-inning double. The 2023 American League MVP also had a triple earlier in the contest.

Akshay Bhatia survived losing a six-hole lead and injuring his shoulder to win the Valero Texas Open.

The American injured his shoulder celebrating the birdie which earned him a place in a play-off with Denny McCarthy, but clinched victory on the first hole after receiving treatment.

Rory McIlroy was a distant third, nine shots adrift, as he completed his Masters warm-up with a bogey-free 66.

Bhatia clinched a place at The Masters with his second PGA Tour victory, which had seemed a lot more straightforward when he held a six-shot lead heading into the final nine holes.

McCarthy birdied his last seven holes to shoot 63 and wipe out the deficit, leaving Bhatia needing to hole from 12 feet for a birdie to force the play-off.

He found the cup to complete a 67 and move alongside McCarthy at 20-under-par, but felt his shoulder pop out of its socket as he raised his arms in celebration.

After McCarthy found the creek in front of the 18th green in the play-off, Bhatia had his shoulder taped before hitting his wedge to six feet and holing to clinch victory.

The 22-year-old will become the first finalist from the Drive, Chip and Putt event to return to Augusta to play in The Masters.

Inter Milan can take another huge step towards sealing the Serie A title when they face Udinese on Monday.

Simone Inzaghi’s side watched nearest rivals AC Milan cruise to victory over Lecce on Saturday to secure a fifth straight win.

But Inter have not blinked in the title race and can restore their 14-point lead by securing a 25th game unbeaten.

They appear set to have to do so without two of their key defenders, with the club’s player of the month Alessandro Bastoni and fellow centre-back Stefan de Vrij repoertedly set to miss out through injury.

Udinese are just two points above the relegation zone and manager Gabriele Cioffi is under no illusion as to how difficult a task they face against the runaway league leaders.

“(I expect) 200 per cent from the players, because it is the only way to leave the field with the points we need to move away from the lower areas of the table,” Cioffi said at his pre-match press conference.

“(We knew) this would be a difficult season, although we always hope to win every match 3-0.

“I believe that these types of challenges are the beauty of working as a coach. Points must be won by everyone: by the players, by the staff and by the club.”

Former Aston Villa striker Keinan Davis is sidelined while Lorenzo Lucca is suspended.

Danielle Collins secured back-to-back tournament wins with a 6-2 6-1 victory over Daria Kasatkina in the Charleston Open final.

After winning the Miami Open last week, Collins earned her 13th successive victory in style as she dropped just three games in her latest triumph.

The American, who moved up to 15th in the world rankings, needed just 77 minutes to dismiss her opponent without facing a break point in the whole of the contest.

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Collins said: “I had a lot of matches in Miami and I had a lot of matches here.

“I had, at one point in this tournament, two matches in one day, which is not easy to pull off. I don’t know if I’ve done that before as a professional. I feel like the last time I did that was like in 12-and-unders.

“So to be able to physically battle and push myself to a new limit gives me a lot of confidence. I’ve been so happy to be, obviously, playing at the level that I’ve been playing, but to be able to back it up two weeks in a row has just been fantastic.”