Antonio Rudiger's first goal in 15 months and a Jorginho penalty inched Chelsea towards a top-four Premier League finish with a 2-1 win over Leicester. Tuchel's team gained revenge for their FA Cup final defeat and moved a point ahead of Leicester into third. Tonight fifth placed Liverpool, with a game in hand, can move into the top four with a win over Burnley at Turf Moor. Brighton stunned Premier League champions Manchester City as they came from behind to win 3-2 in front of their vocal home supporters at the Amex Stadium, while 10,000 fans also returned to Old Trafford where the host's winless run continued with already relegated Fulham holding them to a 1-1 draw.
In his column this morning, Gordon D'Arcy explains why Connacht head coach Andy Friend would do incredibly well as the next Ireland coach: "The They play this high-tempo rugby and they put a lot of emphasis on skills, passing, kicking, running lines and timing. Tactically, they are trying to be more astute than the opposition because they are not going to be bigger or stronger. But they can be smarter!" Overcoming Leinster in the semi-final gives La Rochelle head coach Ronan O'Gara belief that they can repeat the feat against more European royalty in Saturday's final: "I'm very proud of what this club has done and the opportunity it's given me but at the same time, there's a game to play and you know I'm in it to win. I'm not in it to partake."
Ahead of this week's US PGA Championship there would appear to be a revived energy off Rory McIlroy. Victory in the Wells Fargo at Quail Hollow last month ended a long winless drought and Philip Reid explains: "the change has come with the reappearance of crowds at tournaments and in putting fresh impetus into his team with the additions of Pete Cowen to his coaching ticket and, at the suggestion of Brad Faxon, a renewal of time spent with sports psychologist Dr Bob Rotella."
Meanwhile, the GAA is looking at microchipping sliotars to ensure they meet manufacturing standards. The GAA's director of organisational culture, planning, and development Pat Daly, says the so-called digital sliotar contains a microchip inside, and by using a simple smartphone app one would be able to detect whether that's a bona fide ball or not.
