Kurt Kitayama managed four straight birdies on his back nine to claim the lead ahead of Daniel Berger in a group of three after the opening day of the Honda Classic in Florida on Thursday.

The little-known American carded a six-under-round of 64, starting the day with three straight birdies, before his hot run on his back nine at Palm Beach Gardens.

Kitayama has enjoyed a good recent period, making the cut at his past five starts before Thursday's impressive feat as solo leader.

"I think when you're struggling, I think just that self-motivation to find keep getting better and finding a way to figure it out, it's kind of how you've got to keep going," Kitayama told reporters.

The 29-year-old leads by one stroke from Rory Sabbatini, Chris Kirk and hometown hero Berger who are five-under.

World number 20 Berger started his round brilliantly, with three birdies on his first four holes, while he also sunk a 28-foot birdie putt on the ninth hole with no ill-effects from a back problem that has been plaguing him lately.

Slovakian veteran Sabbatini made birdie on the 18th to jump into a share of second, with Kirk having eight birdies and three bogeys in an entertaining round.

Danny Willett, Matthias Schwab, Andrew Kozan, Aaron Rai and Peter Uihlein are all next tied for fifth at three under.

Four-time major winner and current world number 15 Brooks Koepka managed three birdies in his round of two-under-68 to be four shots off the pace.

Last week's Genesis Invitational winner Joaquin Niemann had an even round of 70, despite leading early after four birdies on his front nine, with a double bogey holding him up on the fourth hole.

Pre-tournament favourite Louis Oosthuizen will battle to make the cut after five bogeys on the front nine before a double bogey on the 17th hole left him with a five-over-75.

Xavi believes Barcelona produced "the most complete performance of our season" during the second leg of their Europa League knockout round play-off victory over Napoli.

The Blaugrana stormed through to the last 16 of the competition after completing a commanding 5-3 aggregate victory thanks to a 4-2 triumph at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Thursday.

First-half goals from Jordi Alba, Frenkie De Jong and Gerard Pique put the visitors in control in Naples, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang settled the tie before the hour mark.

Barca registered 16 shots to their opponents' seven – with their four goals coming from six on target – while they enjoyed 56 per cent of possession and won 54.8 per cent of the duels throughout the contest.

And Xavi was delighted as his side booked their place in Friday's last-16 draw.

"Perhaps, this was the most complete performance of our season," the head coach said. "We wanted to dominate and we did. 

"I'm happy about the effort we put in and with the football we played. The result is fair. 

"I am very happy for the players and this is the way forward.  We are on the right road.

"We pressed well, high up, whenever we lost the ball – just like we did at home. 

"Napoli pressed high up and spaces were available in behind them. From defending a corner, we made a textbook counter-attack. We took advantage of our fast players. 

"We understood how to create and use a 'free man'. I'm very happy for the team."

Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst saluted his players as they sent Borussia Dortmund crashing out of the Europa League, describing the 6-4 aggregate victory as "a big moment for the club."

Leading 4-2 after a stunning first-leg performance at Signal Iduna Park, the reigning Scottish Premiership champions endured a tense second leg at Ibrox.

Despite James Tavernier's first-half penalty, Jude Bellingham and Donyell Malen reduced the aggregate deficit to a single goal before the break.

Indeed, Malen might have dragged Dortmund level in the tie, but Tavernier drilled in his second just before the hour mark, ultimately booking the hosts' place in the last-16 draw despite Rangers having a third disallowed after a VAR check.

"It is a big moment for the club, we can make a lot of people proud as it was a difficult game again," Van Bronckhorst told BT Sport.

"We were very unfortunate in some moments where we could have cleared the ball. We had to change something to be more defensively solid.

"[Alfredo] Morelos was much stronger in the second half, and we had many more dangerous moments.

"We trained with three different plans for today. We needed to have scenarios in place to be executed, and I'm glad we did.

"We had a great performance; we played them twice and got four points – it’s a great performance. 

"The last 16 is only top teams; we wait for them, and we look forward to the draw."

Dortmund star Bellingham suggested he and his team-mates only had themselves to blame.

"It was brilliant to play in. A good team, a good test," the England international told BT Sport, having created a joint team-high three chances.

"We didn't have the bite we had in the first half. It's just one of those nights, we didn't take all our chances and they took theirs, fair play to them.

"We've let the fans, the staff and ourselves down. If we look at ourselves in the mirror, we'll realise we could've done more."

Bellingham is not wrong. Dortmund finished with a higher expected goals (xG) than Rangers (2.97 to 2.26).

Two-goal Tavernier, meanwhile, revealed that a tactical reshuffle at the break proved instrumental for Rangers.

"We really stepped up in the second half after we changed tactically, it allowed us to progress," Rangers' captain explained.

"The manager told us that we have to follow the runners and tighten it up a bit; that’s what we do in our back five system, and it works for us.

"We are really impressive, the result was pleasing. I always try to get to back post, and I got the goal today.

"This game shows the character that we have in the squad; we have a great squad that can push through."

Rangers have qualified for the round of 16 in the Europa League for a third consecutive season, which is their longest streak of reaching at least this stage in a major European competition since a run of three between 2005-06 and 2007-08 – they reached the final of the UEFA Cup in the last season of that previous run.

Dortmund, meanwhile, have been eliminated in three of their past four two-legged ties in the knockout stages of the Europa League, losing against Liverpool in the 2015-16 quarter-finals, Salzburg in the 2017-18 round of 16 and Rangers this season.

England will be without Manu Tuilagi for their Six Nations clash with Wales after the centre suffered a hamstring injury.

Tuilagi had been set to return from an injury lay off to feature at Twickenham on Saturday, having been named in the team that Eddie Jones confirmed on Thursday.

However, England have been dealt a blow as scans after training revealed a hamstring problem for the 30-year-old.

England have recalled Joe Marchant, who will train with the squad on Friday. However, an updated team will not be confirmed until the day of the game.

Tuilagi had been set to play alongside Henry Slade in midfield for Jones' team, who bounced back from their defeat to Scotland in the opening match by beating Italy last time out.

He has represented England in 46 Tests so far since making his debut in 2011.

Mikel Arteta had no issue with Arsenal leaving it late to beat Wolves on Thursday, suggesting that such a dramatic victory was good for the atmosphere around his team.

Arsenal celebrated a vital 2-1 win in their bid to qualify for the Champions League at Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners climbed to fifth in the Premier League, a point behind fourth-placed Manchester United with two games in hand, although they had to do it the hard way.

Trailing to Hwang Hee-chan's early opener, Arteta's men finally equalised eight minutes from time through substitute Nicolas Pepe, who also then had a hand in the winning goal as he teed up Alexandre Lacazette for a shot Jose Sa deflected into his own net.

That decisive own goal clocked in at 94 minutes and 56 seconds, making it Arsenal's latest Premier League winner since Alexis Sanchez's January 2017 penalty against Burnley (97:14).

Asked if he would rather have seen Arsenal comfortable in a routine victory, Arteta told Prime Video: "Probably [I would prefer] the way we won it, because it creates such a belief, a togetherness, an atmosphere and cohesion with our fans as well.

"That's extremely necessary. We really want to create something special here, and without our fans we're not going to be able to do it."

Arsenal have now won seven of their past nine league games, losing only once in that run to Manchester City.

It is a far cry from a dismal start to the season, as Arteta acknowledged as he said: "After three defeats in the first three games, we had to avoid relegation.

"That was the first thing that we had to do, and then just go game by game."

Novak Djokovic has not lost any motivation for tennis, but believes he needs time to find some rhythm after a long break, as he conceded the world number one spot.

Djokovic's 86-week reign at the top of the ATP rankings will end on Monday, after the Serbian lost to qualifier Jiri Vesely 6-4 7-6 (7-4) in the Dubai Tennis Championships.

That means that Daniil Medvedev will leapfrog Djokovic regardless of whether or not he wins in Acapulco.

Using his official Twitter account, Djokovic congratulated both Vesely – who won his only previous meeting with the 20-time grand slam champion back in 2016 – and Medvedev.

"Well played @jiri_vesely, that was a great game. Wish you the best of luck for the rest of the tournament," Djokovic wrote, accompanying his post with a thumbs up emoji.

"Congratulations also to a very deserving @DaniilMedwed, who will now become world number one."

His appearance in Dubai was Djokovic's first competitive action of 2022, after he was unable to feature at the Australian Open due to his refusal to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

While suggesting he is still working his way back to full sharpness after not playing since December, Djokovic insisted he is fully motivated to carry on playing.

"My goal is to keep on playing tennis," Djokovic said in his post-match news conference.

"That's the ultimate goal. For as long as I really feel like it and as long as I can play. As long as my body allows me, as long as the circumstances in my life as well, the people that surround me [and] support me.

"I'm still motivated and I'm still p***** off when I lose a match. I care about it. I care about winning every match, as anybody else on the Tour, regardless of the age. I'm actually glad that I'm feeling a lot of emotions every single day because it means that I really want to be part of this sport, part of the Tour.

"Unfortunately, [it] wasn't my day. I congratulate Jiri. He played better. 

"The more matches I play, the more comfortable I get on the court. I need the match play. I didn't have many matches at all last few months.

"I don't look at the age really as a restricting factor for my career. I still feel great in terms of my body and the way it's holding on, the way it's recovering. It's been serving me well, so to say. That's something that obviously encourages me to keep going."

Seth Curry does not want an apology from Ben Simmons as the pair start a new chapter with the Brooklyn Nets.

Curry and Simmons were team-mates on the Philadelphia 76ers, although the former first overall pick had not played this season.

Simmons has now cited a difficult period with his mental health as his reason for staying away from the 76ers until a trade was agreed with the Nets.

The Australian was the subject of intense criticism following the team's playoff defeat to the Atlanta Hawks last season, in which he was deemed to have shirked responsibility and passed up shooting opportunities.

With James Harden leaving the Nets for the 76ers, Curry and Andre Drummond joined Simmons in the deal going the other way.

It means Simmons must now play with team-mates he abandoned earlier in the season, but Curry does not see that as a problem.

"Business is business," Curry told ESPN on Thursday ahead of the NBA's resumption after the All-Star break.

"I said from day [one], even when he was out early in the season, people were asking me if I feel like, if Ben comes back, should he apologise to us or whatever?

"I understand the business; he doesn't need to apologise to anybody. When he's on the court, I know he's going to do his job and he's going to do what he does. So I understand the business.

"He was doing what he felt was best for himself business-wise and personal-wise. And the team's going to do the same thing as far as making trades or whatever, so I understand it, I've been around it; I don't take anything personal.

"When we're on the court, we're team-mates. Everything's fine, and we depend on each other to do good things. There's been nothing negative he's done to me personally, so I'm fine."

James Tavernier scored twice as Rangers booked their place in the Europa League last 16 with a 2-2 draw against Borussia Dortmund, which sealed a 6-4 aggregate win.

A week on from their brilliant 4-2 triumph at Signal Iduna Park, Rangers had their captain to thank as they secured progression on a frantic night in Glasgow.

Tavernier opened the scoring from the spot in the 22nd minute, but the excellent Jude Bellingham equalised for Dortmund before Donyell Malen put the visitors ahead.

Rangers' resolve returned in the second half, though, with Tavernier drilling in his second just before the hour to end BVB's Europa League hopes.

Bellingham had hit the post as Dortmund looked to deflate the raucous atmosphere at Ibrox, but having withstood the early pressure Rangers went ahead – Tavernier slamming a penalty down the middle after Julian Brandt fouled Ryan Kent.

Brandt wasted a chance to make immediate amends, but Bellingham restored parity when he slotted in after pouncing onto Connor Goldson's poor touch.

Scott Arfield and Alberto Morelos went close for Rangers before Allan McGregor brilliantly denied Malen at the other end in the space of a minute.

McGregor had no chance when Malen prodded past him in the 42nd minute to put Dortmund ahead, however.

Gregor Kobel got down to Morelos' goal-bound shot after the restart, but BVB were made to pay for more dismal defending when Tavernier lashed in at the back post from Joe Aribo's cross.

Dortmund seemed set to regain their lead when Marco Reus rounded McGregor but sliced into the side-netting.

Instead, Rangers were in delirium when Morelos raced through and squared for Kent to tuck in, only for referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz to harshly disallow the goal for a foul on Emre Can after a VAR check, although it ultimately mattered not.

Nicolas Pepe came off the bench to spark a dramatic late turnaround as Arsenal overcame Premier League top-four rivals Wolves 2-1 in a thrilling encounter. 

Hwang Hee-chan pounced on an error from Gabriel Magalhaes to end a 10-game barren run and put Wolves on top in a fiery encounter at Emirates Stadium on Thursday. 

The visitors quickly shifted their focus to defence but substitute Nicolas Pepe eventually found a way past goalkeeper Jose Sa in the 82nd minute. 

Pepe then teed up Alexandre Lacazette to force the winner, which went down as an own goal by Jose Sa, to spark jubilant scenes among the Gunners players and fans, with the gap to fourth-placed Manchester United – who they have played two games fewer than – now reduced to just one point.

Anett Kontaveit remained on course for a sixth title in seven months, progressing to the Qatar Open semi-finals after defeating Ons Jabeur in straight sets.

Champion in St Petersburg two weeks ago, Kontaveit extended her winning run to eight matches following a 6-4 6-1 success.

The opening set was neck and neck until Kontaveit won 15 out of 16 points from 30-30 at 4-4 to draw first blood and establish a 2-0 lead in the second.

The Estonian, who registered just 12 unforced errors throughout the contest, then took 12 of the last 15 points to advance to the last four. 

"At times, it was just kind of fun because I felt like the level was really good, and I was playing really well," said Kontaveit, who has won nine of her last 13 matches against top-10 opposition.

"I think I have this confidence that I can go deep every week that I'm playing, and I'm not setting these mental barriers to myself that I used to do. 

"I'm very happy with being in the semi-finals, but I also feel like I can still go deeper, I can still do more. So, I'm not too satisfied yet with this result. I feel like if I play well or if I'm consistent, I have a chance with anyone.

"I'm really happy that I'm bringing a good level of tennis consistently every tournament. I think that's something that I'm just most pleased with."

In the semi-finals, Kontaveit will face another in-form player in Jelena Ostapenko, who saw off Garbine Muguruza in straight sets.

Having triumphed in Dubai last week, the 15th seed has now recorded nine successive victories for the first time in her career after prevailing 6-2 6-2.

Ostapenko struck 39 winners and claimed 15 of 18 points on her opponent's second serve as she moved a step closer to a maiden title in Doha, having reached the final six years ago.

Meanwhile, Iga Swiatek is through to her first WTA 1000 semi-final on a hard court after a 6-2 6-3 win over Aryna Sabalenka.

The former French Open champion won seven out of eight breakpoints, while reeling off six successive games in the second set to secure a comfortable victory.

Next up for her is Maria Sakkari, who recorded her third win against Coco Gauff in four meetings after prevailing 6-3 6-3.

The sixth seed is through to her sixth semi-final at WTA 1000 level or above – and targeting her first such title.

Napoli and Barcelona demonstrated opposition to Russia's full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine ahead of their Europa League tie on Thursday. 

Ahead of kick-off at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, the two sides came together to hold a banner displaying the message "STOP WAR" after Russian president Vladimir Putin launched military action into Ukraine on Thursday. 

UEFA are set to move this season's Champions League final, which was due to be played in St Petersburg. 

Meanwhile, Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic have all called for Russia to be stripped of the right to host their forthcoming World Cup qualifiers. 

The knockout round play-off second leg between Napoli and Barca was finely poised following a 1-1 draw at Camp Nou last week, where Ferran Torres cancelled out Piotr Zielinski's earlier effort. 

FIFA refused to make a snap decision on whether Russia will be allowed to host World Cup play-off matches in March but said it is "monitoring the situation". 

Widespread condemnation followed Russia's full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine on Thursday.

Stats Perform understands that UEFA will confirm on Friday that St Petersburg will no longer host this season's Champions League final. 

In a joint statement, Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic, who are in the same qualification pathway as Russia for this year's World Cup, said they would not consider playing matches in the country. 

Russia are scheduled to take on Poland in Moscow on March 24. If they win, they will face Sweden or the Czech Republic at home five days later.

FIFA called for the "rapid cessation of hostilities and peace in Ukraine" but stopped short of confirming whether Russia's hosting rights would be taken away.

"FIFA condemns the use of force by Russia in Ukraine and any type of violence to resolve conflicts," the statement read. 

"Violence is never a solution and FIFA calls on all parties to restore peace through constructive dialogue. FIFA also continues to express its solidarity to the people affected by this conflict. 

"Regarding football matters in both Ukraine and Russia, FIFA will continue to monitor the situation and updates in relation to the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifiers will be communicated in due course." 

Ukraine will also contest the 2022 World Cup play-offs, but the draw precludes them from playing at home. 

Sure, relying on Mohamed Salah every week is a decent fantasy football strategy, it's certainly good enough for most, but what happens when the Egyptian magician isn't in Premier League action?

With Liverpool in EFL Cup final duty against Chelsea, the Reds' fearsome front-line and creative full-backs are suddenly off limits to fantasy football managers across the land, while Arsenal and Chelsea are also out of league action.

However, courtesy of Opta-powered data, Stats Perform has managed to pick out some of gameweek 27's potential stars, featuring the England captain, an in-form Burnley new boy, and one of the Premier League's most lethal defenders.

HARRY KANE (Leeds United v Tottenham Hotspur)

Despite Antonio Conte's team lurching to a fourth loss in five Premier League games at Turf Moor in midweek, the England captain remains the perfect pick for managers who need a big-hitter in Salah's absence.

Kane has been involved in seven goals in his last 10 Premier League appearances, registering six goals and an assist in that time. Meanwhile, five of those contributions, including four goals, have come on the road.

If that isn't enough to make managers' minds up, Kane will be facing a Leeds team which has already shipped 56 league goals this term, and has scored 10 goals in his eight Premier League appearances in Yorkshire. 

DAVID DE GEA (Manchester United v Watford)

For those looking for an adequate replacement for the likes of Allison or Edouard Mendy between the sticks, Red Devils stopper De Gea looks to be the perfect choice, ahead of a kind home fixture with Watford.

When looking at Opta's Expected Goals on Target data, no Premier League goalkeeper has prevented more goals than the Spaniard this season, with De Gea conceding 32 Premier League goals from 39.09 xG on target faced.

Although De Gea did ship four times when Watford ended Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Red Devils reign earlier this season, United have never lost a home league game against Watford, recording 11 wins and two draws against the Hornets at Old Trafford. They have not faced any other side in more home games during their league history without losing (also 13 unbeaten vs Hull City).

CRAIG DAWSON (West Ham United v Wolves)

The best fantasy football managers are those that find themselves looking for marginal gains, and what better way to do that than to pick one of the division's most lethal defenders?

Since the 2014-15 season, no Premier League defender can match Dawson's tally of 14 headed goals, and the big centre-back has now netted in successive games, against Leicester City and Newcastle United.

West Ham's next Premier League clash sees them take on Wolves at the London Stadium. For all their good form, the visitors are averaging under a goal per game this season, so Dawson could also be in with a chance of a clean sheet.

WOUT WEGHORST (Crystal Palace v Burnley, Burnley v Leicester City)

Finally, Burnley's towering Dutch striker Wout Weghorst stands out as an appealing under-the-radar selection, ahead of the Clarets facing two games in four days.

Since Weghorst made his move from Wolfsburg to Turf Moor, he has weighed in with a goal and two assists, meaning only Salah (three goals and one assist) has registered more goal involvements amongst Premier League players since his arrival.

Although Burnley's weekend opponents Crystal Palace have been buoyed by a 4-1 win over Watford, they then host a Leicester team which has conceded 40.61 expected goals this season, a tally worse than all but three Premier League teams, so another Weghorst contribution could be on the cards.