Bernardo Silva welcomes the pressure on Manchester City to continue their charge for a maiden Champions League title when they face Atletico Madrid in the quarter-final in what is "not just another game".

Pep Guardiola's Premier League side cruised through their last-16 clash with Sporting, winning 5-0 on aggregate, to tee up their first meeting with Atletico in European competition.

The Etihad Stadium will play host to the first leg on Tuesday before the return meeting in Spain on April 13 as City look to lift the Champions League for the first time in their history.

City have only lost one of their last nine games in the competition beyond the group stage (W7 D1), with that defeat coming in the final last season against Chelsea.

Silva openly acknowledged the pressure on his team to deliver European success, but he sees it as an opportunity as opposed to a reason for concern.

"It's not just another game, it's a very important game for us, it's a competition that maybe just Scott Carson has won," he told reporters at Monday's pre-match news conference.

"Pep as well but the club has never won it. Most of us have never won it. We really want to do it. Over the years we weren't able to do it, it is the only one missing and we want to go for it again.

"The pressure is always there and we know these fans always expect us to perform well in this competition and we're going to try our best to make our fans happy and proud of us."

Pressed on the frustrations of Europe's premier club competition evading City so far, Silva added: "We know how important this competition is. It's where the best clubs in Europe play.

"It's definitely a goal. It's a thing that we really want to achieve but if we are going to achieve it - nobody knows. The only thing we can promise to our fans and the club is that we're going to do our best and try as hard as we can to achieve that.

When asked about the pressure to win the tournament when seemingly appearing the favourites, Silva responded: "I don't think it is anxiety but pressure. Pressure to win is nice because it means you're in a great club fighting for everything.

"It is pressure that we want because we want to win those competitions. Atletico are a great side also, I'm sure they have that same thing. There is lots of pressure from the fans to continue to win.

"They are the champions of Spain and they also have to do well in the Champions League. There is lots of pressure on both sides but we are players used to this and we will manage it really well."

Guardiola and Simeone have faced off four times before in their managerial career, with the latter eliminating the Spaniard's Bayern Munich on away goals in the 2015-16 Champions League semi-final.

Atletico averaged just 27 per cent possession across the two legs and scored twice from 18 shots, while Bayern netted the same number of goals from 53 attempts, and Silva believes Simeone's visitors will pose a unique challenge.

"Honestly, no. Maybe the style of play might be similar to some teams in the Premier League," he said of how Atletico compared to English teams.

"It's a team with some of the best players in the world. It's not comparable. Club teams in England, most or all, don't play like Atletico, which makes the game different. Very competitive, organised, with a specific style of play. It wasn't easy for [Manchester] United, Liverpool two years ago. It won't be easy for us but if we follow Pep's plan it will work out.

"The team I see today is better prepared than even last season. It comes from disappointment. We know each other better. It’s been five or six years we’ve been with Pep. We keep learning from our mistakes."

City's focus will quickly turn to a home clash with Liverpool on Sunday that is being labelled as a title decider, with Jurgen Klopp's side just a point behind Guardiola's leaders with eight games to play.

However, Silva suggested the crucial double-header within five days of each other is a compliment to the quality of his team.

"The players are used to it," he continued. "It’s a good sign and it means we are there to fight for titles. It's good to be able to fight for all of them. We enjoy it, playing against the best teams for the best competitions."

Bangladesh are to lodge a complaint with the ICC over the standard of umpiring and alleged "deplorable" sledging from South Africa during a 222-run thrashing in the first Test at Kingsmead.

The Proteas wasted no time in wrapping up a crushing victory on the final day in Durban, Keshav Maharaj taking 7-32 and Simon Harmer 3-21 to bowl the sorry tourists out for only 53.

Bangladesh were dismissed in only 19 overs as the South Africa spinners tore through their batting line-up.

The Tigers were not happy with the standard of umpiring from South African duo Adrian Holdstock and Marais Erasmus.

Bangladesh Cricket Board cricket operations chairman Jalal Yunus told ESPNcricinfo: "We have already lodged one complaint about the umpiring after the ODI series.

"The match referee had initially misbehaved with our manager Nafees Iqbal but then softened when we gave him a written complaint. We will lodge another official complaint about this Test match."

He added: "There hasn't been impartial umpiring in this Test match. It started on the first day. We were held up for half an hour at the start of the game because of the sightscreens. We were deprived of the initial advantage.

"To make up this half an hour, they extended the lunch session, instead of starting early, which we usually see. It is definitely at the umpire's discretion, but generally we see them making up for lost time by starting early. These are subtle technical things."

Yunus also felt Dean Elgar's side crossed the line dishing out the verbals.

He said: "They surrounded [Mahmudul Hasan] Joy when he went out to bat. They were saying something. He couldn't say anything back since he is a junior player.

"It was deplorable. Instead of controlling the situation, the umpires warned our players whenever we made complaints against the sledging. Sledging definitely took place from both sides, but when they started it and took it overboard, we complained to the umpires. It wasn't acceptable. We properly condemn it. We have to accept the umpires' decisions, but the ICC must reinstate neutral umpires."

Tigers captain Mominul Haque called for the return of neutral umpires.

He said: "Sledging is quite normal, but the umpires didn't seem to notice it. The umpiring in the match is not in our control, but I think the ICC should think about bringing back neutral umpires."

Juventus midfielder Manuel Locatelli faces up to a month out of action after the midfielder sustained a knee injury in the 1-0 loss against Inter on Sunday.

The Italy international, who tested positive for COVID-19 in March, started in the Derby d'Italia but suffered a knock in the first half and was replaced by Denis Zakaria after just 34 minutes.

Bianconeri head coach Massimiliano Allegri appeared unworried by the damage to the 24-year-old after the match, but Juve provided another update on Monday.

Scans have confirmed a problem in the ligament of Locatelli's right knee that is estimated to keep him out for a month, which means he will likely miss Serie A clashes with Cagliari, Bologna, Sassuolo and Venezia.

Locatelli will also be absent for the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final on April 20 against Fiorentina, who lost the first meeting 1-0, as Juve look to defend their title.

He has played an integral role this season for Allegri's side, who sit fourth in Serie A after their 16-game league unbeaten run ended against Inter.

Indeed, only Alvaro Morata (30) has featured in more top-flight games than Locatelli for Juve this campaign (29), while Juan Cuadrado (1,283) and Matthijs de Ligt (1,317) are the only players to complete more passes than him (1,141).

Locatelli has won 15 of the Serie A games he has appeared in this term, with De Ligt, Morata, Cuadrado and Moise Kean (all 16) the only players to boast better returns.

Juve will be hoping that Zakaria, Adrien Rabiot and Arthur can step up in Locatelli's absence when they visit Cagliari on Saturday.

Pep Guardiola says the debate regarding the contrasting styles of his Manchester City side and Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid "is stupid".

The reigning champions of England and Spain face off at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.

While Atletico have become famed for their organised and somewhat defensive set-ups, City are considered one of the finest footballing sides anywhere in world football.

However, ahead of facing Simeone for a fourth time in their managerial careers, Guardiola has defended the Argentine's style of play.

"I'm not going to talk one second about this stupid debate," Guardiola said at Monday's pre-match news conference. 

"Everyone tries to win the game. If they win they are right, if we win we are right. It's for the players, the difference will be there. Honestly, not one second.

"After watching Atletico there is a misconception, wrong, about the way Simeone plays. It's more offensive than people believe. 

"He doesn't want to take a risk in the build up but they have quality in the final third. They know exactly how to play. In the moments of the game, these situations are really good."

Guardiola, who has won two of those previous three meetings with Simeone, added: "What is playing ugly? 

"My team won 1-0 at Old Trafford and Bernardo Silva spent five minutes in the corner, that is not ugly. It's defending the position. 

"I'm here to talk about what we try to do. I never judge the opponents. What they do, what we have to do to win."

City have won eight major domestic honours in Guardiola's five full campaigns at the club, but they have yet to lift the Champions League under the Catalan coach.

Guardiola has at times been criticised for overthinking his team selections and he joked he will take a different approach in the first leg against Atletico.

"In the Champions League I always overthink," he said. "There are always new tactics. Tomorrow you will see a new one. I overthink a lot, that's why I have very good results.

"It would be boring if I always played the same way. If people think I play the same against Atletico and Liverpool, I don't like. 

"The movements are different, the players are all different with different personalities. That's why I overthink and create stupid tactics.

"Tonight I take an inspiration and I'm going to do incredible tactics tomorrow. We play with 12 tomorrow!"

While Guardiola and Simeone have crossed paths before, Tuesday's match will be the first time City and Atletico have faced off in European competition.

Guardiola has won three of his four meetings with Spanish clubs in the Champions League while in charge of City, with those being the most recent three.

City's reward should they better Atleti over the two legs will be a semi-final against either Real Madrid or Chelsea, the latter a possible repeat of last season's final.

The Citizens are also in the semi-finals of the FA Cup and lead Liverpool by one point at the top of the Premier League ahead of the two sides facing off next Sunday.

That game could go a long way to determining which team wins the title, but Guardiola is only focused on the Atletico match for now.

"If you don't play these games you're out of the competition," he said. "It's a joy to be here every season. To arrive every season, April, May to fight for titles we've done well. 

"But any bad results now and you're out of competitions. Every opponent is tough in this stage. Every team has a particular way to play. You have to adapt and adjust."

Anthony Joshua's rematch with Oleksandr Usyk is expected to have a date and venue finalised "within the next two weeks", according to the Ukrainian's promoter Alexander Krassyuk.

Usyk overcame Joshua to claim the WBA, WBO and IBF titles at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last September, condemning the Briton to just his second professional defeat.

Joshua activated his rematch clause, but plans for a second clash were thrown into uncertainty after Usyk returned to Ukraine to defend his country amid the ongoing invasion by Russia.

However, the 35-year-old Usyk confirmed in March that he has started his preparations for the rematch, which Krassyuk suggested last week may be staged in Saudi Arabia in late June.

Usyk's promoter Krassyuk provided another update on Monday as he told Sky Sports: "Within the next two weeks we expect to finalise details."

Joshua regained his WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles in a rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr in December 2019 in Saudi Arabia and could be heading back for a second time as he looks to reclaim his belts.

However, Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn have suggested they are keen on the bout taking place in the United Kingdom again.

Pep Guardiola must be wary of the "complicated" challenge Atletico Madrid can pose to Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-final, according to Luis Garcia and Jose Enrique.

Atletico battled to a 2-1 aggregate victory over Manchester United in their last-16 clash to tee up a first-ever meeting in Europe between Diego Simeone's side and City.

But Guardiola and Simeone are no strangers to one another given they have faced off four times, and Atleti eliminated the Spaniard's Bayern Munich in the 2015-16 Champions League semi-finals.

Atletico averaged just 27 per cent possession across the two legs and scored twice from 18 shots, while Bayern netted the same number of goals from 53 attempts as the Spanish side progressed on away goals.

Garcia, who enjoyed two spells at Atleti during his playing career, expects Simeone to set up in a familiar fashion when the two teams meet on Tuesday and warned that City could suffer on the counter-attack.

"It is one of the teams that you don't want to face, because of the rhythm and the players that Guardiola has developed, he knows how to use the players in every situation," he told Stats Perform. 

"But Atletico is a complicated team when they have confidence and return to the basics of defending well together.

"With players in attack like Joao Felix and Angel Correa, with players like Yannick Carrasco and Marcos Llorente, they can be dangerous on counter-attacks and we have seen City suffer against teams that sit back."

Former Liverpool defender Enrique echoed his fellow Spaniard's thoughts as he insisted Simeone will not care how his side plays as long as they get a result.

"Sometimes Cholo [Simeone] gets hit, but in this type of competition he knows what he has to do and it won't be easy," he said to Stats Perform. 

"Pep knows Cholo a lot and Cholo knows Pep a lot. Manchester City is going to have possession and that doesn't matter to Cholo, he just wants to win and across two games, Cholo is very complicated and can beat anyone."

After eliminating Ralf Rangnick's United with a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford, Atleti are eyeing consecutive wins on away trips to face English sides in European competition before the second leg in Spain on April 13.

Andrew McDonald has backed out-of-form captain Aaron Finch to lead Australia in the T20 World Cup this year ahead of a one-off match against Pakistan at Gaddafi Stadium on Tuesday.

Opener Finch was dismissed without scoring in the second and third ODIs as the tourists suffered a 2-1 loss to a Babar Azam-inspired Pakistan side last week.

The skipper has not scored an international half-century since last July, but Australia interim head coach McDonald says he remains the man to lead his country when they attempt to defend their T20 World Cup title on home soil.

"From my end, there's no conversation around the [prospect] that he won't be there," said McDonald.

"His form can ebb and flow – like most players' can – and his ability to work through these patches has been significant in his career.

"We had the same conversation about David Warner leading into the T20 World Cup last [year], so all these conversations are going to happen.

"Do we think he's still good enough to play this level? One hundred per cent yes. That's as simple as it gets for us and we're building a team around him as captain.

"It's a pretty significant pillar to be discussing about not being at the T20 World Cup. From our end, we think he can still play at this level, 100 per cent."

Finch will be one of only three players who are set to face Pakistan in Lahore that were part of the side that won the World Cup in Dubai last November.

Australia will be looking for a fourth consecutive T20 win over Pakistan, but they will have their work cut out as the hosts have come out on top in 10 of their past 11 home matches in the shortest format.

Babar a class apart

Captain Babar made back-to-back centuries to give Pakistan a first ODI series win over Australia for 20 years.

The irrepressible skipper has made a staggering three hundreds, as many half-centuries and 36 in his past five knocks for his country - demonstrating his class in all formats.

As the top-ranked player in the world in both white-ball formats, Australia must find a way to remove Babar before he is set.

McDermott and Head vying for opening spot

Either Ben McDermott or Travis Head look set to open with Finch in the only T20 match before Australia head home.

There was good news for the tourists when Ashton Agar and Josh Inglis returned negative COVID-19 tests, while Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green are in contention to make their T20I debuts.

Andrew McDonald refused to commit to wanting the Australia coaching role on a permanent basis after the tour of Pakistan ends as he needs more detail on the job and greater clarity.

Justin Langer guided Australia to a 4-0 Ashes thumping of England after lifting the T20 World Cup in December before rejecting a short-term contract extension with Cricket Australia (CA) in February.

CA's handling of the situation with Langer was widely scrutinised, with McDonald taking up an interim role to lead Australia to Pakistan for the first time since 1998.

Australia have fared well under his stewardship, claiming a 1-0 victory in the three-Test series and going 1-0 up in the three-match ODI series before falling to a 2-1 defeat, including a nine-wicket thrashing in the decider.

McDonald revealed he has held talks with the board about making his tenure permanent but is unwilling to commit to a definitive decision amid uncertainty surrounding the specifics of the role.

"Obviously the congested Test series didn't allow that but with a few more gaps in this one-day series I've had the opportunity to speak with Cricket Australia," McDonald said on Monday.

"Whether that becomes a follow-up conversation we'll wait and see. It will be pretty much like the other people who have no doubt spoken to Cricket Australia.

"Within the chats, there was no great detail or clarity on what the role would look like."

Pressed on whether he would like to take the job on a full-time basis, McDonald – whose influence has been praised by Test captain Pat Cummins – remained unsure.

"It depends on what it looks like, how Cricket Australia see the job unfolding and looking like and we'll get more detail on that going forward," he added.

"I don't really want to openly share what I think it should look like because that might put people in difficult situations throughout the process."

Australia conclude their tour of Pakistan with a one-off T20 on Tuesday and McDonald could have Josh Inglis and Ashton Agar to call upon after the pair recovered from COVID-19.

"[Agar and Inglis] returned their first negative test," he continued.

"They were in our last T20 set-up against Sri Lanka so depending on how they front for training, we will communicate with them on the possibility of playing."

Antonio Conte labelled Dejan Kulusevski a "great signing for the present and for the future" after his superb start to life in the Premier League continued in Tottenham's 5-1 win over Newcastle United on Sunday.

The Sweden international was a January deadline day arrival from Juventus and has made a strong early impression in the Premier League, recording his fifth assist in the emphatic victory.

Having also scored twice in that period, Kulusevski has helped lift the attacking burden from Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son since arriving.

"We are talking about a player that I know very well, because he played in Italy," Conte said. "He started to play with Atalanta, then Atalanta [sent] him on loan to Parma, and he played in Serie A, and he played in a fantastic way.

"We are talking about a player who is only 21 years old, and he has to continue to play this way, because he's strong physically, big engine, he's good technically.

"I think for Tottenham this is a great signing for the present and for the future. We are talking about really, really strong."

In addition to Kulusevski, Rodrigo Bentancur arrived from Juventus on deadline day this year and the two have blossomed under Conte at Spurs.

The Tottenham boss believes the two signings have helped them fill a positional need and find balance.

"I said that with these two players despite that we lost four players in January, with these two signings we made this squad more complete, with more balance," Conte said.

"I think that it's very important in football to have a clear idea, and to have a good vision. Because in this way, the situation is more simple."

Fourth in the Premier League, Tottenham will travel to face Aston Villa this Saturday.

Tammy Abraham is relishing the opportunity to play abroad under Jose Mourinho, labelling the Roma boss the "best manager in the world."

The 24-year-old English striker has netted 23 goals across all competitions this season and 15 league goals in his first year in Serie A, only behind Dusan Vlahovic and Ciro Immobile in the race for the Capocannoniere.

The Giallorossi are undefeated in the league since a 4-3 loss to Juventus in January and Abraham has scored seven goals in that period - including a brace in a 3-0 win over fierce rivals Lazio.

Abraham attributes some of his success to the notoriously demanding Mourinho.

"You know Mourinho's a character that we all know," Abraham told talkSPORT.

"There's a reason why I call him the best manager in the world. He knows how to drive you, he knows how to get under your skin and he knows how to make you feel like a very special player at times.

"He'll never tell you but I always want to do my best for him."

While admitting Abraham's move to Italy was not a first preference while on his way out from Chelsea, the fact that Mourinho would be his boss helped make his mind up.

Abraham says his parents also played a big part in persuading him to move to Italy.

He added: "As a young English lad I wanted to stay in England. Roma came along and Atalanta and many different teams around the world, I was telling myself I wanted to stay in the Premier League and that I had something to prove.

"But my dad, parents and agent sat me down and said 'you scored goals at Chelsea, Swansea and Bristol City, go and test the waters, go and experience life abroad.'

"When they were speaking it kind of dawned on me that not many players can say they've gone out in Italy, to Serie A and a team like Roma."

Ralf Rangnick says it is down to Marcus Rashford to regain his form and confidence in order to nail down a place in Manchester United's starting line-up.

Rashford was named on the bench for Saturday's 1-1 draw with Leicester City, despite United being without the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani.

United boss Rangnick instead elected to field midfielders Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba up top, before introducing Rashford in the 55th minute.

England international Rashford, who was not part of the Three Lions' squad for their March friendlies, made little impact during his time on the field as he failed to register a shot.

Former United defender Rio Ferdinand questioned whether the academy product will still be at Old Trafford next season given his lack of playing time.

However, Rangnick believes Rashford can turn things around as long as he bears responsibility for his drop in form.

"Marcus, it's no secret that he is not having his best time right now," said Rangnick, who is not expected to stay on as interim manager beyond this campaign.

"It has to do with rhythm and confidence; it's our job to help him to get this confidence back.

"The only thing we can do is speak to him regularly and tell him what we expect from him and what he should do. The rest has to be done by himself.

"It is possible to develop within a couple of weeks a level of confidence where you can be a different player again.

"We all know that Marcus can play better, but in the end he has to take the steps himself."

Rashford has started just 15 games in all competitions this season, which is level with Alex Telles for the joint-15th most among United players.

He has five goals and two assists, averaging 0.45 goal involvements every 90 minutes.

That places him behind team-mates Cavani (0.48), Pogba (0.54), Fernandes (0.63), Jesse Lingard (0.69) and Ronaldo (0.71).

The 24-year-old will be looking to regain his place in the starting line-up when United take on Everton in their next Premier League outing on Saturday.

Keshav Maharaj claimed a remarkable seven-wicket haul as South Africa required just 13 overs on the fifth morning of the first Test to register an emphatic 220-run victory over Bangladesh at Kingsmead.

The Proteas were bowled out for 204 in their second innings in Durban on Sunday, setting the tourists 274 to win before Maharaj and Simon Harmer reduced Bangladesh to 11-3 at stumps.

The visitors' sizeable task significantly increased when they lost Mushfiqur Rahim in the first over the day, pinned in front by Maharaj, who claimed six of the seven wickets to fall on Monday to finish with 7-32.

Dean Elgar's hosts only used spinners Harmer (3-21) and Maharaj in the final innings, which lasted just 19 overs in total, as they claimed a 1-0 lead in the two-match series by bowling the Tigers out for 53.

The rampant Maharaj picked up where he left off on day four as he struck with his fifth delivery to remove Mushfiqur for a duck, while Litton Das (two) chipped a simple catch to Harmer in the left-armer's next over.

Yasir Ali (five), who was bowled by Maharaj, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (zero) followed in quick succession, with the latter snaffled at slip by Keegan Petersen off Harmer.

Najmul Hossain Shanto offered brief resistance but when he was stumped for 26 by Kyle Verreynne off Harmer, Bangladesh were languishing at 50-8 and Maharaj soon wrapped up victory.

Khaled Ahmed needlessly slogged the finger spinner to Lizaad Williams before Taskin Ahmed (14), who survived an earlier lbw review, edged Maharaj to Wiaan Mulder at slip to seal victory in just 55 minutes.

Spin tames Tigers

Maharaj went wicketless in 37 overs in the first innings. However, he ramped up the pressure in the second with his seven dismissals coming in 60 balls, the second-fastest since 2002 after Stuart Broad's against Australia in 2015, as he collected his eighth Test five-for and best figures at home.

Indeed, it was also the first time South Africa have bowled out an opposition using only two bowlers after neither of the seamers, Duanne Olivier and Williams, were called on in the second innings.

Kingsmead hoodoo ends in dominant fashion

South Africa cruised to just their second win in their last 10 matches at Kingsmead as Bangladesh were bowled out for their second-lowest total in Tests and lowest against the Proteas.

The visitors will have to figure out how to bounce back against Maharaj and Harmer, who took seven wickets on his comeback to international cricket, in the final Test in Port Elizabeth that starts on Thursday.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is not willing to be drawn into mind games with Tottenham counterpart Antonio Conte and is instead focused on getting the most out of his players.

Conte last week stated that Spurs would require "a miracle" to finish fourth place in the Premier League.

Tottenham increased the pressure on Arsenal by hammering Newcastle United 5-1 on Sunday to leapfrog their north London rivals into the final Champions League qualification spot.

However, the Gunners are only behind Tottenham on goal difference and have two games in hand, the first of those coming away at Crystal Palace on Monday.

Conte's comments were perceived as being psychological tactics ahead of a potentially tense run-in that will see the fierce rivals do battle in a rescheduled game.

But Arteta, who was named Manager of the Month for March, is only interested in deploying such tactics internally.

"I don't know if we are favourites [for the top four]," Arteta said. "That is a question for [Conte]. 

"But what we want to do is very clear and the perception of what people think is not going to change it."

When asked if he is a manager who wants to engage in mind games, Arteta replied: "I do it more with my players, I think.

"I do it more with the players, if I have to, to get what I want from them. I can't tell you how I do it because they will know what they are doing and that is the whole point!"

Arsenal have won six of their past seven games ahead of their trip to Palace, who are managed by Gunners midfield legend Patrick Vieira.

Arteta's side have won each of their past five away top-flight matches, which is their best run since a streak of eight in a row between March and September 2013.

That is a remarkable turnaround following their worst start to a Premier League campaign when losing their first three games, and Arteta is confident his young squad can maintain their form.

"There is nothing different; they have already been dealing with [the pressure] for weeks," he said. 

"This is a conversation we have had now for over six to eight weeks, so they have already been through that and have responded really, really well.

"There is nothing new because they have already been doing it and capable of doing it."

Arsenal have lost just one of their past 16 away league games against Palace (W8 D7), though that defeat did come in a Monday game back in April 2017 (3-0).

Following his stunning pole position and race win double in Argentina this weekend, Aleix Espargaro believes this year's Aprilia is the "best bike" he has had in his career.

The Spaniard took Aprilia's first ever MotoGP era pole on Saturday at Termas, going five thousandths of a second within Marc Marquez's all-time lap record set in 2014.

He backed it up by winning on Sunday and fighting his way past Pramac Ducati's Jorge Martin, who took the lead after the first corner.

After claiming his first win in over 200 MotoGP races as well as the fastest lap at Termas, the 32-year-old was on cloud nine.

"I'm extremely happy because since Qatar I felt, even in the pre-season, I felt like I had the best bike I've ever had in my career," Espargaro said.

"Also, in Qatar I felt strong and we have step-by-step shown a lot of potential. Yesterday we proved we were the fastest, and also today in the race it was not lucky or a wet race and now we are leading."

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