Cristiano Ronaldo channelled his anger at Juventus' Champions League exit in midweek into a decisive display in the Bianconeri's 3-1 win over Cagliari on Sunday, according to head coach Andrea Pirlo. 

Juve were eliminated from Europe's elite club competition by Porto at the last-16 stage on Tuesday, going out on away goals after the tie finished 4-4 on aggregate after extra time at the Allianz Stadium.

Sergio Oliveira scored the decisive goal late on from a free-kick that went straight through the Juve wall, with Ronaldo turning his back on the effort.

Former Bianconeri boss Fabio Capello singled out Ronaldo, while ex-president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli suggested Juve should never have spent €100million to sign the forward in 2018.

He responded in superb fashion at the Sardegna Arena, though, scoring a hat-trick inside 32 minutes. 

Only once before had Ronaldo scored a quicker hat-trick from kick-off, doing so after 20 minutes against Espanyol for Real Madrid in 2015.

The Portugal international is now four clear of Inter striker Romelu Lukaku at the top of the Serie A scoring charts, with 23 goals from as many appearances. 

In total, Ronaldo has scored 87 times for club and country in March, making it his favourite month of the year in terms of goals, surpassing September (86), while he has now also netted at all 18 stadiums he has played at in Serie A.

Pirlo was pleased with Ronaldo's display and dismissed suggestions he might have received a red card for a high challenge on Cagliari goalkeeper Alessio Cragno. 

"I think it was a classic situation during play, both of them were looking at the ball and didn't realise how close they were," he told Sky Sport Italia.

"He was angry the same way everyone was after the missed qualification, but he did his talking on the pitch with three goals and that's all that matters.

"It was the right approach, which we needed after failing to qualify the other day, and we started on the right foot.

"All we can do is focus on our own results, getting as many points as possible, winning as many games as possible and then at the end seeing where we are."

Juve's win takes them clear of fourth-placed Atalanta and to within one point of Milan, who play in Sunday's late game.

They remain 10 points behind leaders Inter, having played a game less than Antonio Conte's side, and defender Giorgio Chiellini insists the reigning champions are not thinking too much about the Serie A pacesetters. 

"It was a tough test, as Cagliari are a very good team," he said. "We've got Benevento up next and need to find that consistency we've been lacking so far this season.

"With all due respect for Inter, we have to focus only on our own results. Once we reach the end, we'll see where we are, but the only course we can take is to focus one game at a time and keep going.

"We spoke within the dressing room. This isn't the moment to be talking too much, our strength has always been giving our response on the pitch. I think if we maintain that unity, we'll do well."

Inter assistant coach Cristian Stellini hailed the impact of substitutes Christian Eriksen and Alexis Sanchez in the Serie A leaders' 2-1 win over Torino on Sunday. 

The Nerazzurri's winning streak looked in danger when Antonio Sanabria cancelled out Romelu Lukaku's 62nd-minute penalty – Inter's first shot on target – 20 minutes from full-time. 

Lautaro Martinez sealed all three points for Inter, though, heading home a teasing cross from Sanchez in the 85th minute. 

Stellini – in charge due to Antonio Conte serving a one-match suspension – praised the contribution of the Chile international and Eriksen, who had been linked with a move away from San Siro in the mid-season transfer window. 

"This win was crucial against a team that sits back. They don't concede a lot," he told Sky Sport Italia.

"We needed an episode to break the deadlock. We were lucky to get that penalty kick and then we did well when we scored that second goal.

"Sanchez and Eriksen changed the game. We knew it. Eriksen was ready, albeit with some physical problems. We had prepared it this week. We knew they could be dangerous coming off the bench.

"Christian has changed his performances. He's always tried hard. In the beginning, it could be challenging to adapt to a different kind of football, but now he's settled in well.

"Lautaro and Lukaku have many qualities, they are solid, they complete each other, and they sacrifice for the team.

"Sometimes we have to stop them, telling them they can't train too much. Now we can breathe a little bit, and we can take care of every detail."

Martinez's winner means he is up to 14 goals in 27 Serie A matches this season, equalling his best-ever return in the Italian top flight.

It was the fourth consecutive game against Torino in which he has scored and the Argentina striker said Inter needed "heart and soul" to edge past Davide Nicola's side. 

"We knew Torino needed points, but we needed them too. It was a tough game, but we managed to win, and we are so happy," he said.

"We train every day to do the right things. We prepared the game differently. We needed quality, heart and soul. We proved we aim for something important.

"We want to win, it doesn't matter who scores. It's important to find the net, I am happy to score and I am happy."

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a first-half hat-trick as Juventus took out their Champions League frustration on Serie A strugglers Cagliari in a 3-1 away win.

The subject of transfer speculation after disappointing in the Bianconeri's European exit to Porto in midweek, Ronaldo came to the fore on Sunday with the second-fastest treble of his outstanding career.

The 32-minute blitz was enough to cast aside 17th-placed Cagliari, who had conceded all of their previous six Serie A goals after the break.

Giovanni Simeone struck back to cap an improved second-half display from Cagliari, but Juve comfortably eased to a third straight league win.

Federico Chiesa had already equalled his career-best tally of assists in a single Serie A campaign, and the winger nearly had a seventh of the season when he crossed for Ronaldo, whose header was deflected wide.

Juve's opener came from the resulting corner, Ronaldo powering in Juan Cuadrado's cross.

Alvaro Morata squandered a great chance 12 minutes later but made amends with a terrific ball for Ronaldo, who drew a rash lunge from Alessio Cragno and duly thumped home the subsequent spot-kick.

Having crafted Morata's wasted opportunity, Chiesa got the assist his performance deserved in the 32nd minute, his drilled crossfield pass teeing up Ronaldo to complete a perfect hat-trick with an arrowed left-footed finish beyond Cragno.

Cagliari started the second half brightly and, after some smart stops from Wojciech Szczesny, were rewarded when Simeone slammed home from a precise Gabriele Zappa cutback.

VAR deemed Joao Pedro not to have been fouled by Adrian Rabiot inside Juve's box soon after.

Chiesa just failed to turn in Cuadrado's centre to restore a three-goal advantage, but the visitors ultimately avoided any further scares to move within 10 points of leaders Inter.

Johnny Sexton kicked a late penalty to make sure Ireland once again got the better of Scotland in the Six Nations, the visitors running out 27-24 winners at Murrayfield on Sunday.

Scotland went into the fixture still in with a shot of claiming the title but a 17th loss in the last 20 meetings between the two nations in the competition means Wales and France will fight it out to be crowned champions in 2021.

Hamish Watson's converted try in the 74th minute completed an impressive comeback from Scotland, who had trailed 24-10 at one stage in the second half.

However, having worked so hard to get back level in the contest, Scotland conceded a penalty from the kick-off, allowing Sexton to settle a see-saw contest in favour of Ireland.

The hosts had not played for a month – their round three fixture against France was called off due to a coronavirus outbreak within Les Bleus' squad – and were caught cold in the opening minutes of both halves.

Sexton slotted over an early penalty to start the scoring before putting his right boot to good use in open play, a cross-field kick meant for Keith Earls ending up breaking kindly for the late-arriving Robbie Henshaw to ground.

Finn Russell replied with a penalty and then cashed in on a fortunate break to get Scotland's first try.

Stuart Hogg charged down a clearing kick and twice hacked on before Russell did the same, James Lowe’s attempt to deal with the situation only knocking the ball up in the air to set up an easy finish for the fly-half.

The conversion made it 10-8 to Scotland, but a pair of Sexton penalties before the break was followed up by Tadhg Beirne plunging over in the 49th minute, his try by the posts leaving an easy kick to make it 21-10.

A further Sexton penalty built the lead out to 14, yet substitute Huw Jones gave Scotland hope, bursting through some weak tackling to make an instant impact following his introduction.

Hogg landed the extras having taken over kicking duties, the full-back also on target to bring his team level after Watson's strength close to the line allowed the flanker to force the ball down.

Yet Sexton scuppered Scotland's hopes as he had the last word, drilling over the match-winning kick from close to the touchline.

Daniil Medvedev claimed the 10th ATP Tour title of his career with a 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 win over Pierre-Hugues Herbert at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille.

Medvedev will move up to number two in the world in Monday's latest ranking, making him the first player outside of the big four of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray to occupy one of the top two positions since Leyton Hewitt in 2005.

The Russian celebrated this achievement with a dogged display to down Herbert in two hours and 11 minutes, saving four of the five break points he faced.

A finalist at the Australian Open, Medvedev is now 14-2 in 2021, with the Open 13 title his sixth on indoor hard courts.

Herbert's strategy of frequently visiting the net was initially picked apart by Medvedev, who only needed one set point in the opener as he threaded a backhand winner expertly down the line.

But the Frenchman applied the pressure in set two, passing up three break points early on before impressing from the baseline to reel off five straight points and claim the breaker from 2-4 behind.

The decider was a tense affair but Herbert's errors at the net came back to undermine his efforts decisively when he served to stay in the match at 5-4.

The 29-year-old has now lost all four of his ATP Finals, while Medvedev again proved himself to be a high-quality operator on such occasions.

Hansi Flick is the ideal candidate to succeed Joachim Low as Germany's next head coach, according to Lothar Matthaus.

Low announced on Tuesday he will step down from his role with the national team after the Euro 2020 finals, having been in charge for the past 15 years.

Bayern Munich's Flick was installed as one of the early favourites to take over from Low, whom he previously worked alongside as assistant head coach for eight years.

Flick masterminded a magnificent Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League treble last season, which Bayern have added to with the Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup and DFL-Supercup this season.

The 56-year-old appeared to rule himself out of the running earlier this week as he remains under contract at the Allianz Arena until 2023.

But Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge will leave his role at the end of the year and Matthaus has urged the DFB to move for Flick should he become available.

"He's a person of harmony, but he has to feel good," Matthaus told Sky Sport Germany. "If he no longer feels comfortable at Bayern, he will tell his bosses and then he will be the ideal candidate for the national team."

Jurgen Klopp and Julian Nagelsmann, in charge of Liverpool and RB Leipzig respectively, have also distanced themselves from one of the top positions in international football.

Meanwhile, Matthaus previously stated he had no interest in leading the country he represented 150 times as a player, but he has now changed his stance.

"The DFB has to think about what it wants. Pros and cons are weighed up against each candidate," he said.

"I'm someone who likes to help. If I had the feeling that those responsible were united behind the decision, I would start to think about it."

Germany Under-21s coach Stefan Kuntz and former Leipzig boss Ralf Rangnick have also been linked with the position, though the latter is reported to be in talks with Schalke over the possibility of returning to the club as sporting director.

Inter strengthened their position at the Serie A summit as Lautaro Martinez's late header secured a slender 2-1 win over Torino on Sunday.

The Nerazzurri never looked like scoring during a dismal first half, but they forged ahead in the 62nd minute when Romelu Lukaku slotted home from the penalty spot.

Antonio Sanabria pulled the hosts level eight minutes later, yet Inter celebrated an eighth consecutive top-flight win courtesy of Martinez's 14th league goal of the season five minutes from full-time.

The result moved Antonio Conte's side nine points clear at the top of Serie A, although Milan had the chance to restore a six-point gap by overcoming Napoli later on Sunday.

Antoine Rozner claimed his second European Tour title as a closing 65 gave the Frenchman victory in the Qatar Masters on Sunday.

Rozner, whose first title came in the Golf in Dubai Championship in December, went into the final day at the Education City Golf Club three shots adrift of the lead.

He jumped into first place by going to the turn in 33 shots but was joined at the summit by Guido Migliozzi after the Italian carded a bogey-free 65.

It looked like Rozner might accept a play-off when he faced a 60-foot putt on the last, needing to get down in two to force extra holes, but the 28-year-old sank his long-distance attempt to finish on eight under for the tournament.

India's Gaganjeet Bhullar and Darren Fichardt of South Africa finished alongside Migliozzi a shot off the lead, one ahead of Wales' Jamie Donaldson and Englishman Richard McEvoy.

Rozner's win means he will move into the top 70 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time in his career, while he becomes the fastest French player to claim two victories on the European Tour, doing so in only 29 events.

"It's unreal," he said on the European Tour website. "In my biggest dreams I couldn't imagine anything like this happening.

"It's probably the biggest putt of my career - amazing.

"It's so early in my career, only my second year on tour. I'm playing great so I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing, playing the way I've been playing the last two years and I'm excited to see what the future holds for me. It's very promising."

Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman has warned against complacency as his side look to cut the gap to Atletico Madrid with victory over rock-bottom Huesca on Monday.   

The Catalan giants have not lost in LaLiga since they slipped to a 2-1 defeat away at Cadiz on December 5.   

Indeed, their run of 16 top-flight games without defeat – which has included 13 wins – is the best current unbeaten streak of any team in the five major European leagues.   

Atleti were held to a 0-0 draw by Getafe on Saturday, giving Barca the opportunity to get within four points of the league leaders if they overcome Huesca at Camp Nou.   

Koeman, though, is taking nothing for granted and wants his side to be fully focused, despite facing opponents who have recorded just one win in their last 20 away league games in the top flight.   

"First we have to win tomorrow, but we are closing the gap," Koeman told the media.

"It [the unbeaten run] is a demonstration that we have improved, but there are no easy games. Those from below fight not to be relegated and those from above, to qualify for Europe.  

"You don't have to look at the table but go to win every game. We can't fail any more. Atletico Madrid is going strong and Real Madrid is there too. You have to go game by game."  

He added: "I have always said that it is a very long season. The points that Atletico have obtained is not normal.  

"Atletico is very competitive. They haven't lost much either. They lacked effectiveness yesterday and had the match to win. In Getafe, they had many clear opportunities. It is a very strong team and you have to fight until the last match. 

"Our trajectory since the away defeat to Cadiz has been good." 

Barca were dumped out of the Champions League in midweek by Paris Saint-Germain despite taking 21 shots to the Ligue 1 side's seven in the second leg, with Lionel Messi missing a crucial penalty with the score at 1-1 in Paris.  

Koeman was impressed by what he saw but wants his side to make sure they have a clinical edge in front of goal. 

"It is the maximum that can be asked of the players," he added. "The level of the other day but with greater effectiveness. 

"If we analyse this season, where we have lost unnecessary points it has been for not having the effectiveness for a team like Barcelona.  

"They even told me that in the 6-1 comeback [against PSG in 2017] there weren't as many opportunities as we had in Paris." 

Ronald Koeman is not interested in media speculation about his own future at Barcelona as he waits to hold in-depth talks with new president Joan Laporta. 

Barca exited the Champions League in midweek, going out in the last 16 to Paris Saint-Germain, but still remain firmly in the hunt in LaLiga, having clawed their way back into the title race with a 16-game unbeaten run. 

The excellent domestic form has eased the pressure on Koeman somewhat, though a recent report in Spain suggested Julian Nagelsmann was being lined up to replace the Dutchman at Camp Nou. 

RB Leipzig boss Nageslmann, who has also been linked with Bayern Munich, made clear on Friday it would be disrespectful to discuss such matters, stating: "There are great coaches at all of these clubs and they have a contract, just as I do. It is not annoying me, nor is it flattering me." 

Likewise, Koeman's focus is on helping Barcelona continue to get better this season, rather than worrying about stories in the press. 

"It was a very good reaction, but I don't have to answer the names of players or coaches that a journalist produced," the Barca boss said ahead of Monday's LaLiga game against Huesca. 

"That is a matter for the media. You have to fill the pages every day.  

"I have a contract. We are improving many things and we have to continue."

Koeman revealed he had a conversation with Laporta - who was elected for a second stint as president last Sunday - prior to the second leg against PSG in the French capital.

However, he expects the pair to have more detailed discussions once their schedules allow. 

"I have not spoken with the president yet because there are many games and it must be official that he is president," Koeman said. "We spoke in Paris, but we have to meet later. These are not things to explain outside, but from within the club." 

Jordi Cruyff - son of club legend Johan, who is currently coaching in China - has been linked with becoming part of a new-look board at Barca. 

"I cannot say much because they are things that exist within the club, the president has to decide his team in important positions," Koeman replied when asked about his compatriot returning to Camp Nou. 

"I know Jordi well, as well as his family. He may be a candidate, but I have not discussed this issue."

Caris LeVert was "just happy to be on court again" after finally getting the chance to make his debut for the Indiana Pacers.

LeVert joined the franchise via a trade in January, a move that dramatically changed his life before he even made an appearance for the Pacers.

A small, cancerous mass was discovered on his left kidney during a team physical and medical test prior to the deal going through, with the 26-year-old undergoing surgery to have it removed.

Having now fully recovered, he was able to return to action on Saturday, contributing 13 points and seven rebounds as Indiana defeated the Phoenix Suns 122-111, just their second win in eight outings.

While admitting to having "heavy legs", LeVert was just grateful to be back, particularly as he had no idea after his operation when exactly he would be cleared to return.

"The main thing for me was trying to contribute to a win," LeVert, who played 27 minutes, told the media.

"This was maybe my second time going five-on-five since everything happened - there was a little bit of heavy legs due to my conditioning, but that will come back. I'm just glad we got the win."

He added: "I think a month and a half ago, two months ago, I didn't even know if I was going to be out here, especially this soon with everything that happened.

"There is definitely a level of gratefulness - I'm just happy to be on the court again."

Asked if his presence made a difference for the Pacers, he replied: "I just tried to come out and give great energy, contribute in any way that I could."

LeVert was averaging 18.5 points per game for the Nets before being involved in a blockbuster four-team trade that was headlined by James Harden ending up with Brooklyn.

Indiana actually drafted the shooting guard 20th overall in 2016, though they traded his rights to the Nets before he had played a game.

Pacers coach Nate Bjorkgren is glad to have LeVert on his roster now, praising his attitude as he waited to make a comeback.

"He energised our team, and his character level is so high," Bjorkgren said.

"He's such a good person. He's been a great team-mate throughout this entire time that he's been out, so our guys were very happy to have him back out there on the court."

Matt Simon scored a 90th-minute penalty as A-League leaders Central Coast Mariners scrambled for a 2-2 home draw against Perth Glory. 

In soaking wet conditions, which caused kick-off to be delayed by half an hour and left puddles on the pitch, lowly Perth threatened to snatch a shock win. 

The home side did go ahead in the 25th minute when Daniel De Silva's shot was parried by Liam Reddy and Marco Urena turned in the rebound from a tight angle to the left of goal. 

Bruno Fornaroli dragged Perth level in the 41st minute with a deft header from Neil Kilkenny's cross, and the visitors edged ahead with 14 minutes remaining when Nick D'Agostino hit a crisp shot into the bottom left corner. 

That was Fornaroli's 10th A-League goal against the Mariners, making them his second favourite opponent, behind Newcastle Jets, against whom he has scored 11 times. 

Central Coast pushed for a leveller and were rewarded when Luke Bodnar manhandled Simon inside the six-yard box, with the spot-kick awarded following a VAR check. 

Simon slotted into the bottom right corner, giving Mariners a point that nudged them six clear of second-placed Adelaide United, yet the result halted their three-game winning streak at home.

Dylan Pierias headed Western United to a 1-0 home win over Brisbane Roar. 

The persistence of Pierias paid off after he was twice denied by Roar goalkeeper Jamie Young earlier in the game, with the 21-year-old stooping to expertly guide home a cross from Alessandro Diamanti in the 72nd minute. 

Pierias headed the ball across goal and into the left corner, with former West Ham and Bologna midfielder Diamanti getting a sixth assist of the season, matching Kilkenny for a league high. 

For the Roar, it was a sixth successive A-League game without a win.