Soccer
Gonzalo Higuain struck twice as Juventus held another Champions League clean sheet to put them within touching distance of the final in Cardiff.
The Italian’s take a 2-0 advantage into their semi-final second leg, with Higuain scoring one in either half against Monaco at Stade Louis II.
On-loan Chelsea forward Bertrand Traore scored twice as Ajax put one foot into the Europa League final with a 4-1 semi-final fist leg win over Lyon.
Teenage striker Kasper Dolberg, and Amin Younes scored the other two as a youthful Ajax side blew away their French opponents in the Amsterdam Arena.
In the other semi-final tonight, Manchester United face relatively unknown La Liga outfit Celta Vigo.
A team that has beaten Barcelona three years in a row, putting four past them the last two times they visited Vigo, as well as deservedly knocking Madrid out of the Copa del Rey to reach the semi-finals. Now they have reached a Europa League semi-final. Five years ago, however, they were in the Spanish second division.
Players, coaching staff and officials at Athlone Town will be interviewed by the FAI next week after the association received a file from Uefa that contained evidence of "irregular betting patterns" before and during the club's game away to Longford Town last Saturday evening.
GAA
Dublin senior football manager Jim Gavin says he is excited to continue occupying his “very privileged position” for another two years, taking him to the end of the 2019 campaign.
The three-time All-Ireland winning manager however is surprised by the negative narrative about his team prior to league final. "We're a very physical team . . . But the facts demonstrate – in terms of yellow and black cards – that we're not a cynical team."
Rugby
In his column this morning John O’Sullivan explains how no club which has finished third or fourth in the Pro12 has managed to reach the final in seven seasons.
"Fundamentally it is better to finish second in the league table than it is first because in four of the campaigns during that time sequence (2009-2016), the club that finished runners-up in the league format went on to claim the title, on each occasion triumphing over the table toppers."
Athletics
Sonia O'Sullivan writes this morning that, for the record, she welcomes the new proposals to reset all athletics records pre-2005.
“I believe this will eventually be a step forward for athletics, if the records are properly reset, and a new list is built up aligning with the proposed criteria.”
