It seems bizarre to suggest that in a contest between a club that has never won the European Cup or Champions League and another that has won 13 of them, it is the latter who will go into it as the underdog.
That is the case this week, though, with Manchester City and Real Madrid set to go head-to-head for a place in this season's Champions League final.
There is obviously reasoning behind this, with Pep Guardiola's side winning every other trophy available to them in recent years and breezing through their European campaign up to this point, a few scars from their quarter-final with Atletico Madrid aside.
Carlo Ancelotti's men have had a tougher road to get here, having to get past newly crowned French champions Paris Saint-Germain and reigning European champions Chelsea so far in the knockout stages.
They had to produce stirring comebacks in both ties, but City are an altogether different prospect, having finished above PSG in the group stage and beaten Chelsea home and away in the Premier League this season.
The English side have very few obvious weaknesses, but perhaps there is one area where Ancelotti can focus ahead of the first leg in Manchester.
Guardiola has recently been slightly overstating his lack of options, saying before the game with Watford at the weekend that City were suffering an injury crisis, before using 14 players that cost approximately £695million (€825m) (according to Transfermarkt.co.uk) to beat the Hornets 5-1.
However, one of his star performers this season has undoubtedly been Joao Cancelo, and the Portuguese full-back is suspended for the first clash with Madrid, while Kyle Walker remains a doubt with an ankle injury.
"They are doubts," the City manager said at a news conference on Monday when asked about Walker and John Stones. "They didn't train for the last week, 10 days... We will see how they feel and take a decision tomorrow."
This could lead to Guardiola having to get a bit creative at right-back, with Oleksandr Zinchenko presumably getting the nod on the left.
Most eyes will be on the likes of Karim Benzema and Luka Modric to lead the visitors, with both producing their usual big-game performances to make the difference against PSG and Chelsea, but the key at the Etihad Stadium may be another slightly unsung hero.
It's not that Vinicius Junior is not highly rated. This season he has exploded into one of the most potent attackers in world football, but this could be the perfect time for him to cement his name as a star of Real Madrid's present and future.
The Brazilian has always been considered a talent but could never quite put together the consistent run of form expected of regular starters in the famous all-white kit, until this season.
Vinicius has registered 31 goal involvements (17 goals, 14 assists) in 45 games in all competitions (42 starts), and has created 94 chances from open play.
Compare this to last season and you can see his significant improvement, managing just 10 goal involvements (six goals, four assists) in 49 appearances (31 starts) in 2020-21, with just 43 chances created from open play.
His numbers are now up there with the best in Europe. In terms of chances created from open play in the top five European leagues this season, only Bruno Fernandes (101) and Thomas Muller (100) have created more than his 94.
No-one has attempted more than his 303 dribbles this season, while only Adama Traore, Kylian Mbappe (both 137) and Allan Saint-Maximin (136) have completed more dribbles than his 127.
Vinicius is well established as a standout performer in LaLiga this season as well, with only Benzema (25), Enes Unal and Raul de Tomas (both 15) having scored more than his 14, while only Benzema (36) has more goal involvements than his 22.
Speaking of Benzema, his partnership with the 34-year-old marksman is developing into one of the most potent in the game, with the duo having provided the most goals for each other in the Champions League this season (six), ahead of Ajax's Antony and Sebastian Haller, and Bayern Munich's Leroy Sane and Muller (both four).
Vinicius is always a threat, as shown against Chelsea at the Santiago Bernabeu in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final. Blues right-back Reece James had been doing a good job of containing him, until one switch off in extra time allowed the 21-year-old down the left, and he played a perfect cross in for Benzema to score what proved to be the winning goal in the tie.
There is another Brazilian winger for City to potentially watch out for, though, in Rodrygo, who also played a crucial role in dumping out Chelsea by scoring moments after coming off the bench in the second leg.
While he has certainly not emerged like Vinicius just yet, the former Santos player has been making himself a more integral part of Ancelotti's squad, with 41 appearances in all competitions so far this season (19 starts), which is already more than the 33 (13 starts) he managed in 2020-21.
He has 12 goal involvements (four goals, eight assists) this season, up from nine last year (two goals, seven assists), and the youngster recently told Real Madrid's official website that he is looking forward to the test of City.
"They'll be tough opponents," he said. "We know the way they play and how good they are. If they've made it to the Champions League semi-finals, it means they're good, and it's down to the way City like to play, with a lot of possession.
"We're expecting a tough match and we have to make sure we keep playing like we have been and try to make it through."
Rodrygo might be under more pressure to perform given recent rumours that he may be one of the players who will have to make way for Mbappe should the club finally land the PSG star at the end of the season.
That being said, arguably Mbappe's best position is where Vinicius is currently doing his damage, which leads you to wonder if he too might be playing for his long-term future.
Of course, the Frenchman can play through the middle but there's another significant obstacle in the way there too in the form of his compatriot Benzema.
If Vinicius and Rodrygo want to make a case for maintaining their roles at the club, they have the perfect opportunity to do so by taking Madrid to a first Champions League final since 2018, and we will see just how ready for the challenge they are at the Etihad.
Kyrie Irving confirmed he will remain with the Brooklyn Nets after a disappointing first-round 4-0 sweep against the Boston Celtics.
Irving scored 20 points with five rebounds and five assists in the decisive 116-112 Game 4 loss on Monday.
The mercurial guard has a player option in his contract for the 2022-23 season, which means he can decide whether to stay for the $36million he has agreed to, or he could void the last year and enter negotiations for a long-term deal with the Nets, or any other team with cap space.
When asked in his post-game press conference, Irving said: "I don't really plan on going anywhere."
He later took it even further as he spoke about rebuilding the team through his "co-management relationship" with the Nets front office.
"I don't really plan on going anywhere – this is added motivation for our franchise to be at the top of the league for the next few years," he said.
"When I say I'm here with 'Kev' [Kevin Durant], I think that it really entails us managing this franchise together alongside [owner] Joe [Tsai] and [general manager] Sean [Marks], and just our group of family members that we have in our locker room and our organisation.
"I think we've just got to make some moves this offseason – and really talk about, and really be intentional about, what we're building.
"We'll just have fun building it, having that creative process. It's a co-management relationship, and you see that the players need to gel. You can't have these little lulls of uncertainty… [we have to] be intentional about who's in our locker room, and how we're going to be leading.
"There's no question about where I'm going, or how this is going to happen. I'm here with [Durant], but also I'm here to build a great team.
"Individually I've been recognised for my greatness, but at this point in my career I really just want to be part of a great team, and dominate that way, without focusing on any individual accolades or achievements. Just really build something special."
When discussing how he felt about the outcome of the season, Irving said he would use it as fuel, but admitted there were points in the season that he felt he was letting down his teammates.
"Just disappointment, sadness. But more importantly, on the positive side, it's motivation," he said. "It's burning in my heart right now.
"I know so many people wanted to see us fail at this juncture… and have so much to say at this point, so I'm just using that as fuel for the summer.
"I think it was just really heavy emotionally this season. We all felt it.
"I felt like I was letting the team down at a point where I wasn't able to play. We were trying to exercise every option for me to play, but I never wanted it to just be about me. I think it became a distraction at times."
Irving was unavailable for home games until late March due to his refusal to accept a COVID-19 vaccination.
He added: "We just had some drastic changes. We lost a franchise player – and we got a franchise player back – but we didn't get a chance to see him on the floor."
Irving discussed issues such as allowing outside noise to seep into the locker room and repeated calls for more mental toughness, but he made sure to support embattled All-Star Ben Simmons. Simmons did not make his Nets debut in Game 4, as had been initially anticipated, as he battles to overcome a back problem.
"There was no pressure for [Simmons] to step on the floor with us, either," Irving said. "Ben's good, we have his back, and he's going to be good for next year.
"But now we just turn the page, and look forward to what we're building as a franchise, and really get tougher.
"This is a league that's getting younger, it's getting more athletic, it's getting taller, and more competitive. These young guys are hungry out here. You see it, I could feel it, so it's added motivation when you get swept like this.
"Now we just look to the future as a team and what we can accomplish for the next few years – and I get excited about that."
The Boston Celtics have emerged as the favourites to make it through the Eastern Conference after a 116-112 win against the Brooklyn Nets confirmed a 4-0 series sweep.
In what was billed as arguably the most competitive first round series in recent memory, the Celtics were simply too good on the defensive end to let the frightening Nets offense find any rhythm or flow.
Boston's Jayson Tatum scored a team-high 29 points on nine-of-16 shooting (four-of-six from distance) before getting fouled out late in the fourth quarter, while Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart showed his offensive skills with 20 points and 11 assists.
Grant Williams did a superb job for the Celtics, coming off the bench to hit four of his six three point attempts, while also playing smothering defense on Kevin Durant and swatting away three shots.
Despite Williams' best efforts, Durant was still a force offensively, scoring a game-high 39 points on 13-of-31 shooting while adding nine assists and seven rebounds in 47 minutes.
Kyrie Irving played 45 minutes, and finished with a respectable line of 20 points, five rebounds and five assists, but he went missing for long stretches of the must-win game. Irving attempted just 13 shots, which was the same number as Seth Curry, who outscored him with 23 points.
An early storyline in the game, and ultimately one of the deciding factors, was Brooklyn's reserve center Nic Claxton missing the first 10 free throws he attempted, finishing the game one-for-11.
Raptors make things interesting
The Toronto Raptors refuse to lay down against the Philadelphia 76ers, winning Game 5 103-88 on the road to pull the series back to 3-2, with Game 6 heading back to Canada.
Toronto trailed 3-0 after three games, but have won back-to-back fixtures with their season on the line to put the pressure back on Philadelphia.
Game 5 was won on the defensive end, as the Raptors took control of the contest with a 25-14 second quarter.
Toronto forced 16 Philadelphia turnovers while only committing nine themselves, and they held the home side to 38 per cent shooting (31-of-81), with the visitors shooting 51 per cent (42-of-82).
With Fred VanVleet out of action, Pascal Siakam assumed point guard duties for Toronto, finishing with 23 points (10-of-17 shooting) with 10 rebounds and seven assists, while Precious Achiuwa added 17 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in 27 minutes off the bench.
Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes showed his talent in his return to the starting line up, scoring 12 points, grabbing eight rebounds, dishing four assists and snatching a game-high three steals.
For the 76ers, Joel Embiid was kept quiet by his standards with 20 points and 11 rebounds from just 15 field goal attempts as the Raptors consistently double-teamed him and forced Philadelphia's role players to hit shots.
James Harden was disappointing, with just 15 points and seven assists to go with five turnovers.
No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit.
Dallas' defense hits new heights
The last game of the night was also the least competitive, as the Dallas Mavericks flashed some unbelievable defensive upside in a 102-77 win against the Utah Jazz.
Prior to the game, Utah's lowest score of the season was a 124-90 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans in March, with the 77-point figure being their lowest score since November 2018 – in a 118-68 loss to the Mavericks.
Dallas now leads the series 3-2, with Game 6 to be played in Utah, and while the Mavs' defense stole the show, Luka Doncic was the best player on the floor.
Doncic had 33 points (11-of-22 shooting) in 33 minutes, with 13 rebounds and five assists, while partner-in-crime Jalen Brunson chipped in with 24 points on nine-of-20 shooting with four assists and just one turnover.
Utah only scored more than 19 points in one quarter – the last, when the game was sealed – as the Mavericks won the first three frames by margins of 24-18, 28-18 and 29-19.
It was the lowest-scoring game of Donovan Mitchell's playoff career, finishing with just nine points on four-of-15 shooting. Of Mitchell's four career playoff games with 12 points or fewer, this was the first since April 2019.
A Bo Bichette grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning propelled the Toronto Blue Jays to a 6-2 home win against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.
It was a quiet game offensively early on as both clubs had their ace pitchers working on the mound, with only one combined run through the first six innings.
Toronto's Jose Berrios finished with two earned runs and four strikeouts from just six baserunners in seven complete innings, while Nathan Eovaldi also pitched seven innings for two earned runs, allowing five hits and no walks with his five strikeouts.
The deadlock was broken in the fifth inning through a Lourdes Gurriel Jr solo home run for the Blue Jays, hooking it over the left-field wall, before Matt Chapman doubled the advantage with one swing in the seventh inning.
Chapman's 422-foot bomb to center-field was the biggest hit of the game, but not the most important, as the Red Sox manufactured two runs in the top of the eighth inning to set the table for Bichette.
After three consecutive hits from Santiago Espinal, Bradley Zimmer and George Springer – who took one of the catches of the year earlier in the game – up stepped Bichette with bases loaded and one out in a tie game.
Bichette connected with a sinker over the heart of the plate and sent it to the opposite-field corner, clearing the wall for a grand slam and giving the Jays a 6-2 lead and the win.
Mets rally in the ninth
With a runner on first base and two outs in the ninth inning, the New York Mets trailed 2-0 – and ended up beating the St Louis Cardinals 5-2.
After the Cardinals allowed the runner on first to take second base unopposed, he came around to score after nine-time Gold Glove winner Nolan Arenado committed a rare throwing error in a play that would have finished the game.
Down 2-1, Jeff McNeil doubled to put runners on second and third, setting up pinch-hitter Dominic Smith to drive them both in with an infield hit after he won the race to first base due to some poor fielding from pitcher Giovanny Gallegos.
Brandon Nimmo put the icing on the cake as the next batter, driving in Smith with a two-run homer.
Gonzalez wins it with first career homer
Luis Gonzalez was the hero for the San Francisco Giants in their 4-2 win against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Giants' win was in spite of the best efforts of Brewers ace Corbin Burnes, who pitched a gem, with 11 strikeouts, no earned runs and only four base runners through six-and-two-thirds innings.
When Burnes was eventually pulled after 106 pitches, the Giants' offense woke up, with a two-run Joc Pederson home run in the eighth inning, before Gonzalez's first career home run brought home another two runs to break the 2-2 tie, allowing Camilo Duval to clean up the save.
Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant has been crowned the NBA's 2021-22 Most Improved Player.
Morant, 22, was the 2019-20 Rookie of the Year, but this year made a leap in his ability to score the ball, and guided his team to the second seed in the Western Conference with a 56-26 record.
After averaging 19 points per game at under 45 per cent shooting in 2020-21, Morant raised that figure to 27 points per game with career-best efficiency at 49 per cent from the field and 34 per cent from long range.
He also posted career-highs in three-point makes and attempts, rebounds per game and steals per game, with a small drop in assists.
The Grizzlies are currently tied at 2-2 in their first round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, with Game 5 set to take place back in Memphis.
To win the award, Morant beat out fellow finalists Dejounte Murray from the San Antonio Spurs, and the Cleveland Cavaliers' Darius Garland.
The field for the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club has been released, and it features both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
The full field will be set on May 9 and includes the top 70 players who have earned the most PGA Championship points through the 2022 Wells Fargo Championship (May 4-8) and the top-20 finishers from the 2022 PGA Professional Championship.
After Woods' successful return to professional golf at The Masters, where he made the cut, discussion has been rife about when he would next tee up in a tour event.
He will be competing against all of the biggest names in golf, including potentially the reigning PGA Championship winner Phil Mickelson after he registered for the event, as well as the U.S. Open.
Mickelson recently missed his first Masters since 1994 after taking a break from golf due to controversy surrounding his links to the Saudi Arabian-backed LIV Golf competition, a breakaway from the PGA Tour.
In the 2021 PGA Championship, Mickelson won with a score of six under.
San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch said he "can't ever imagine wanting to move on from" Deebo Samuel after the star wide receiver requested a trade.
Samuel was used by the 49ers in a unique hybrid role for the 2021-22 season, increasing his productivity, but also increasing his wear-and-tear as he handled more physically demanding running back carries as well as his primary receiver duties.
The 2019 second-round pick amassed a career-high 1,405 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns from 77 catches, and added career-highs in rushing yards (365), rushing touchdowns (eight) and carries (59).
Speaking to the media at a pre-draft press conference, Lynch said even after considering what the 49ers could gain through a trade, he views Samuel in the class of player in which a team should never part ways with by choice.
"I can't ever imagine wanting to move on from Deebo," he said.
"You put yourself through the exercises of, even though we don't have a first-round pick, you have to be thorough in this process and prepare for everything, and as you go through and do that [you realise] he's just too good of a player. You don't let guys like that walk."
The praise for Samuel did not end there, with Lynch calling him a "game-changing player for the franchise."
"I told Deebo this," he said. "I think he's the perfect illustration of what Herm Edwards used to talk about, 'When will meets skill you got the opportunity to be special' – and I think Deebo embodies that as much as anybody.
"He's got tremendous will. He's a very talented player. By virtue of the way he plays, it's inspiring.
"So, to me, that entails leadership. Do you make people around you better? He checks that box.
"He's a great teammate, and I think of things like prior to games, he gets out there and is throwing the ball to fans.
"He's a great member of our community. We got nothing but love for him."
Despite the public nature of Samuel's request to leave San Francisco, Lynch insists the bridge is not burnt, and he believes he can salvage the relationship.
"We pride ourselves on our communication with our players," he said. "This is no different. I'm confident we can find the solutions for whatever is going on.
"That's life, you've gotta work through things. That's what we plan on doing.”
Phil Mickelson has requested a release from the PGA Tour in order to feature in the inaugural LIV Golf opener.
The Saudi Arabia-backed golf league will hold its first event in London between June 9 and 11.
According to Sports Illustrated, 15 of the world's current top 100 players are planning to feature in the event.
Mickelson is taking a break from golf after causing controversy with comments surrounding the breakaway competition when he suggested that although Saudi Arabia has "a horrible record on human rights", the threat of the potential new tournaments could be used to "reshape how the PGA Tour operates".
On Monday, Mickelson registered himself for two upcoming majors – the PGA Championship, which he won last year, and the U.S. Open, which takes place in June.
However, the 51-year-old has also asked to be released from the PGA Tour at the time of the LVI Golf Invitational, with Monday having been the deadline for those requests.
Mickelson's agent, Steve Loy, released a widely reported statement that read: "Our client Phil Mickelson is officially registered to play in the PGA Championship as well as the U.S. Open.
"We have also filed a request on his behalf for a release to play in the first LIV Golf Invitational in London, June 9-11. This request complies with the deadline of April 25 set forth by the PGA Tour to compete in a conflicting tour event."
However, Loy added that Mickelson is unsure as to whether he will definitely play in any of the events he has registered for.
"Phil currently has no concrete plans on when and where he will play. Any actions taken are in no way a reflection of a final decision made, but rather to keep all options open."
Massimiliano Allegri has his sights set on a third-placed finish in Serie A after Juventus came from behind to beat Sassuolo 2-1.
The Bianconeri snatched all three points at MAPEI Stadium – Citta del Tricolore on Monday to take a big stride towards qualifying for the Champions League after Giacomo Raspadori opened the scoring.
Paulo Dybala equalised just before half-time and Moise Kean came off the bench to win it in the 88th minute.
Victory for Juve moved them eight points ahead of fifth-placed Roma with four games to play and just a point adrift of third-placed Napoli.
Defeat was harsh on Sassuolo, who posed a big threat going forward with Domenico Berardi, who has now assisted 12 goals in Serie A, the most of any forward in the competition in a single campaign since Ronaldinho in 2009-10, a constant menace.
Juve boss Allegri, who brought Dusan Vlahovic and Giorgio Chiellini on early in the second half but left Matthijs de Ligt on the bench as he has been suffering with illness, says there can be no let-up from his players in their remaining fixtures.
He said: "We have Napoli one point ahead of us. We hope to play well and try to overcome them, as we hoped to fight after the many positive results to be closer to those in the lead but we didn't succeed.
"Now we have to do the best we can from now to the end."
Juve had a tough start to the season, but Allegri is pleased with the strides they have made early in his second spell with the club, having seen his team win 16 points from losing positions in Serie A this season – with only Inter (19) having earned more.
He said: "We are doing a good job. I think Juve have laid a good foundation for the future and I think there are players with room for improvement, there are those who arrived in January.
"We need to understand that Juve are working in a certain way and I think there is a good basis.
"How we work every day, we know it inside and we are trying to do a good job every day, the seasons sometimes are born in one way, they end in another, there are situations like injuries, now we have five.
"[Federico] Chiesa has been out for so long, [Weston] McKennie the same, they have characteristics that we needed, I think the team is doing well. The team is adapting and doing well, maybe at the beginning of this race we would have lost this game and tonight the boys won it, there are also positive signs."
Joel Embiid has been fined $15,000 for being critical of the officials in the Philadelphia 76ers' playoff defeat to the Toronto Raptors on Saturday.
The Sixers still lead 3-1 in the series, but were unable to secure their passage to the Eastern Conference semi-finals at Scotiabank Arena.
It was not a great night for Embiid, who scored more than 30 points in both Game 2 and 3 of the series, but only managed 21 in Game 4, hitting seven of 16 field goal attempts.
Embiid was not happy with several calls from the officials in the game, and spoke to reporters after the 110-102 loss, saying: "I'm going to take my own advice and not complain about it.
"If they want to give fouls or want to call really no fouls, we've got to really make them earn it and really be physical."
A statement from the league via the NBA Communications Twitter page on Monday confirmed that Embiid had been fined for his comments.
"Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been fined $15,000 for public criticism of the officiating, it was announced today by Byron Spruell, President, League Operations," the statement read.
"Embiid made his remarks to the media following the 76ers' 110-102 loss to the Toronto Raptors in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series on April 23 at Scotiabank Arena."
The MVP contender has been suffering with a torn thumb ligament, but Sixers coach Doc Rivers has insisted it will not impact his availability in the playoffs.
Alexander Zverev will play Holger Rune and Casper Ruud is set to face Alex Molcan in the round of 16 at the BMW Open.
Zverev and Ruud – the number one and two seeds respectively – received byes in the round of 32, with Danish wildcard Rune defeating Jiri Lehecka 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 to advance in Munich on Monday, and Molcan beating fellow Slovakian Norbert Gombos 6-1 3-6 7-6 (9-7).
Teenager Rune had won his opening match in four of his past five tour-level events ahead of the tournament and extended that run with relative ease.
There were no problems for seventh seed Miomir Kecmanovic as he overcame Max Hans Rehberg in straight sets, 6-2 6-3, and he will face Daniel Altmaier in the last 16 after he beat his German compatriot Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-1.
Emil Ruusuvuori is also through after beating Japanese opponent Yoshihito Nishioka 7-6 (7-5) 7-5, and the Finn will now go up against the winner of Dan Evans and Maxime Cressy.
At the Estoril Open, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who reached the final in Monte Carlo earlier this month, will face fellow Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles next after he overcame Federico Coria 6-4 6-3.
Fifth seed Frances Tiafoe secured a victory against Dusan Lajovic, with the American coming from a set down to win 2-6 7-5 6-0, and up next for him is Nuno Borges in the last 16.
Borges advanced after opponent Pablo Andujar retired hurt in the second set, although the Portuguese was already a set and 3-0 up at the time, while Soonwoo Kwon eased past Benoit Paire in straight sets.
Having helped his boyhood club to their first major trophy in 17 years by netting in a penalty shoot-out victory over Valencia in the Copa del Rey final, it is fair to say Real Betis captain Joaquin was in a celebratory mood.
Few neutrals would have denied the club, who have been relegated twice since their last Copa win in 2005, or Joaquin, a genuine Betis legend who has made the most appearances of any outfield player in LaLiga history (595), their moment of glory.
Unless, of course, they could have foreseen the way in which Joaquin chose to celebrate the triumph, in all his glory.
Having cemented his reputation as one of football's greatest practical jokers by posing stark naked with the Copa he won with former club Valencia in 2008, the 40-year-old decided to grace Betis' social media accounts with a recreation of that photo.
A Copa success might well be the most fitting end to Joaquin's career. He seems intent on making the memory last in more ways than one.
Those of a nervous disposition will probably be hoping it is the last trophy of his career, anyway.
Shikhar Dhawan led the Punjab Kings to an 11-run Indian Premier League win over Chennai Super Kings with a brilliant half-century.
The Kings posted a imposing 187-4 after Ravindra Jadeja won the toss and put them in on Monday.
Ambati Rayudu made a blistering 78 off 39 balls, but was dismissed in the 17th over as the struggling reigning champions were condemned to their sixth defeat in eight matches, leaving their play-off hopes in tatters.
The Kings were unable to get off to a flyer and lost captain Mayank Agarwal for 18, Shivam Dube taking the catch off the bowling of Maheesh Theekshana.
Dhawan, however, became the third-highest scorer in the 2022 IPL with a terrific knock, supported in excellent fashion by Bhanuka Rajapaska (42) until he also fell victim to a catch from Dube for Dwayne Bravo.
Liam Livingstone made a rapid 19 from seven balls as Punjab produced a late flurry of runs.
Robin Uthappa (1), Mitchell Santner (9), and Dube (8) fell cheaply to leave CSK in trouble on 40-3 from seven overs, before Rayudu's talismanic efforts threatened to be the catalyst for a stunning win.
Agarwal caught Ruturaj Gaikwad for 30, before Rayudu was cleaned up by the impressive Kagiso Rabada, who claimed excellent figures of 2-23.
Chennai's hopes of chasing down their target looked slim after Rayudu was sent packing, with Jadeja (21 not out) and MS Dhoni (12) unable to get them home.
Dhawan sets the tone
Dhawan's classy knock went a long way to ending the Kings' two-match losing run and Punjab are in sixth spot with four wins and as many defeats.
The India opener struck two sixes and nine fours, shifting through the gears after a watchful start.
Rayudu goes close for out-of-form Super Kings
Chennai's miserable IPL title defence continued after their top order was decimated early on, but Rayudu was unfortunate to taste defeat after single-handedly dragging his side into contention.
Real Madrid will relish the pressure that comes with their Champions League pedigree as they prepare to take on Manchester City in the first leg of their semi-final tie.
Los Blancos have had a tough route to the final four in Europe's premier competition, having to come from behind to beat both Paris Saint-Germain and last year's winners Chelsea.
Speaking at a news conference, Carlo Ancelotti was asked about comments from City boss Pep Guardiola that his team would be playing against history on Tuesday at the Etihad Stadium, with Madrid having won 13 European Cups or Champions League titles, six more than any other club.
"The history that Real Madrid has in this competition means a lot to us, more than to our rivals," Ancelotti said.
"This story, which has grown over all these years, helps players feel the weight of this shirt. It is positive, not negative.
"The pressure is similar, there is a lot of pressure. For Madrid, it is not usually a success to reach the semi-final, we want to reach the final, which is a success. It is the goal. If it arrives, Real Madrid usually have more options to win it because of our history."
Ancelotti was also asked about the defensive approach Atletico Madrid took against City in the quarter-finals and whether he intends to do similar, replying: "If you don't have a compact team against City you will lose, so you have to be compact. Defence will play a very important part in tomorrow's game."
The 62-year-old, who saw his Everton team get beat 5-0 on his last visit to the Etihad Stadium at the end of last season, will have to make a decision on the fitness of some players after training, with David Alaba and Casemiro possible absentees in Manchester.
"From what we saw in training yesterday. [Ferland] Mendy is fine. We have some doubts with Alaba and, above all, Casemiro," he added.
"We have much more confidence with Alaba than with Casemiro. If Casemiro doesn't play, he will be available for the [second leg]."
Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde also spoke to the media, and like Ancelotti, was asked about the weight of the shirt, with the Uruguay international saying: "When you put on the Real Madrid shirt you want to fight for everything until the last minute. It is part of the history of Madrid. You are always the favourite to win it all."
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