José Mourinho, who in 2004 famously referred to himself as the 'The Special One' as he was introduced to the media as the new Chelsea manager, is having quite a week.

UEFA insists the Champions League final will be played in Istanbul no matter the outcome of this weekend's Turkish elections

Unai Emery says Aston Villa are determined to grasp the possible “last opportunity” of European football next season. Villa have slipped to eighth in the Premier League after back-to-back away defeats to Manchester United and Wolves, eight points behind fifth-placed Liverpool with three games remaining. But overtaking sixth-placed Tottenham remains very much a target, and that would happen as early as Saturday if Villa could beat them at home by three goals. Boss Emery said: “We’re three points behind Tottenham, everybody wants to enjoy this moment and play this match with the supporters. “The last two matches against Manchester and Wolves we lost, but it’s not changed our good moments we are taking at home with our supporters. “We deserve this opportunity because the last five matches we won at home and those 15 points have helped us be here. “We have to be positive, to be happy and very focused because it could be the last opportunity. “Or maybe it could be a very good opportunity to keep playing key matches, where me as a coach and the players can improve and build and take challenges in the new direction. “We are playing for one place in Europe and playing against teams like Tottenham, Liverpool and Brighton. “They are different teams but they’re amongst the biggest teams in the Premier League this year.” Emery took charge at the start of November with Villa in free fall. They had won only two of their first 11 league games under Steven Gerrard before his sacking. Emery brought in defender Alex Moreno and striker Jhon Duran during the January transfer window, but the Spaniard has largely been working with players who served under Gerrard and he is likely to strengthen the squad this summer. “The club is working to try to build and create a great way for the progression and the next years,” said Emery. “Of course, we are trying to use my experiences as well to build with the players we have now and the work we’re doing here. “The club will work thinking about the next year, but we have to be focused 100 per cent on the next match because the football is now.” Villa have rattled off five home wins – against Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest, Newcastle and Fulham – since losing to Arsenal on February 18. Emery said: “We were very successful away and were competitive. We started to have some doubts at home before the last five matches we won. “And now it’s exactly different. At home we’re feeling very strong and competitive and we’re winning difficult matches and playing very well. “Away in the last three matches we haven’t been playing like we have been doing. That is one issue I’m working on and analysing with the players. “Overall we are making very good progress individually and collectively as a team.”

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has been named April's Premier League player of the month.

Another parent's attempts to "psych her out" spurred Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to compete in her son's sports day, the Olympic sprinter said in an interview with The Guardian this week.

Felipe Massa has reiterated calls for Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 F1 title triumph to be investigated after new remarks surfaced from Bernie Ecclestone. Brazilian driver Massa, then racing for Ferrari, missed out on that year’s title by a single point in dramatic circumstances at the final race in Brazil as Hamilton – then driving for McLaren - claimed the point he needed on the final lap in wet conditions. Yet new comments, by former F1 supremo Ecclestone, about that year’s infamous ‘Crashgate’ scandal in Singapore has encouraged Massa to assess all his potential options as to whether the Championship result could be overturned. Speaking about Ecclestone’s comments for the first time on camera, 42-year-old Massa labelled Hamilton’s first F1 title win an ‘injustice’ and ‘not fair’. “You fight them to the last corner of the last race, pass the chequered flag as the champion and then everything changed,” he told Sky Sports in Miami. “For sure, a fight on the track. “Then you discover what has happened in Singapore. People, important people like Bernie [Ecclestone], like Max Mosley, like Charlie Whiting - they knew in 2008 and they didn’t do anything. “That is really a massive surprise for me. It’s really [an] injustice and I think definitely we need to study everything that happened because it’s not fair what has happened.” Ecclestone revealed in March that both he and then-FIA president Max Mosley knew of the Crashgate scandal in 2008, but refused to publicise the chain of events to avoid the sport a “huge scandal.” WHAT WAS CRASHGATE? Crashgate rocked the sport when the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix in 2008 saw Renault’s Fernando Alonso win the race before it emerged that his team-mate Nelson Piquet Jr. had deliberately crashed to bring out a safety car which played into Alonso’s hands. That safety car prompted a Massa pit stop that Ferrari mishandled, with Massa eventually finishing the race 13th while Hamilton came home third – a difference of six points, a swing which ultimately impacted the title result. While Renault and team boss Flavio Briatore were punished in 2009, the result of the race stood despite Massa’s protestations, with the FIA’s statues making clear that overturning the classification from each season is impossible once the FIA Awards Ceremony for that year is complete, a rule set in the FIA International Sporting Code. “We decided not to do anything for now,” Ecclestone told F1-Insider. “We wanted to protect the sport and save it from a huge scandal. That’s why I used angelic tongues to persuade my former driver Nelson Piquet to keep calm for the time being. “Back then, there was a rule that a world championship classification after the FIA ​​awards ceremony at the end of the year was untouchable. So Hamilton was presented with the trophy and everything was fine. “We had enough information in time to investigate the matter. According to the statutes, we should have cancelled the race in Singapore under these conditions. “That means it would never have happened for the championship standings. And then Felipe Massa would have become world champion and not Lewis Hamilton.” Upon hearing this new information come to light, Massa told Motorsport.com last month that he will look into his – albeit slim – legal options, noting the example of Lance Armstrong’s doping revelations and the stripping of his Tour de France victories. “There is a rule that says that when a championship is decided, from the moment the driver receives the champion’s trophy, things can no longer be changed, even if it has been proven a theft,” Massa, who ultimately did not win an F1 world title, said. “At the time, Ferrari’s lawyers told me about this rule. We went to other lawyers and the answer was that nothing could be done. So I logically believed in this situation. “But after 15 years, we hear that the [former] owner of the category says that he found out in 2008, together with the president of the FIA, and they did nothing [so as] to not tarnish the name of F1. “This is very sad, to know the result of this race was supposed to be cancelled and I would have a title. In the end, I was the one who lost the most with this result. So, we are going after it to understand all this. “We have already seen other situations happening in sports, such as Lance Armstrong, who was proven to have doped, and he lost all the titles. What is the difference?” Despite Massa’s comments, his options appear slim, with the FIA’s own International Sporting Code stating protests and reviews expire 14 days after a competition and four days prior to that year’s prize giving ceremony. He also cannot use the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which has no jurisdiction over the FIA on issues like this, with the independent International Court of Appeal the highest authority in the sport. CAS may only be involved in F1 matters relating to the FIA’s Anti-Doping Disciplinary Committee. Massa’s best-finish in F1 turned out to be that 2008 season as he retired in 2017 while Hamilton has gone on to win six more titles with Mercedes, holding the joint-record of seven F1 World Championships with Michael Schumacher. Read More Lewis Hamilton would be taking gamble by leaving Mercedes, says former rival Inspired by Schumacher, meet the Hong Kong billionaire targeting a new Formula 1 team Is a bright Ferrari future being hampered by the past? The Miami Grand Prix could already have a problem – and it comes in the form of Las Vegas Max Verstappen urged to ‘take leaf out of Lewis Hamilton’s book’ after George Russell clash

For the second year running, the Phoenix Suns have been blown out of the Western Conference semifinals as they fell to a 125-100 defeat against Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets.

Chelsea are coming for Manchester United. They have been for most of the season, after all. In the Women’s Super League it has been United who have set the pace at the top, with defending champions Chelsea in pursuit, inching closer as the games in hand have ticked down. Chelsea have won both encounters between the sides this campaign, and if they win their next three league fixtures the title will be theirs once again. United, despite enjoying a year of considerable progress, would be powerless to stop it. But at Wembley on Sunday, as Manchester United face Chelsea in the Women’s FA Cup final, Marc Skinner’s side will be in control of their own fate. They will meet on equal footing, with one half of a sold out Wembley bathed in red, the other soaked in blue, on what is another historic occasion in the women’s game this season. An attendance of almost 90,000 will smash the record for a women’s club match in England and sets the stage for United’s first Women’s FA Cup final, five years on from the team’s rebirth in 2018. This season has seen United take an important step forward - yet the presence of Chelsea in the final is a daunting reminder of how far there is still to go. While United aim to win a first major trophy, Chelsea are going for their third FA Cup in a row under Emma Hayes, as well as a fourth consecutive WSL crown. The title race is unfamiliar ground for United but Chelsea have been here before; last season brought the double, the year before a treble. Now a double beckons once again. Though for United, it beckons too. After knocking on the door of England’s top three in recent years, United have smashed through this season. Champions League qualification was the target at the start of the year but Skinner’s team have surpassed that, turning games that would have finished as draws last term into wins to lead Chelsea by a point and reach the FA Cup final. There is a spirit and momentum behind the Manchester side, but the problem for the WSL leaders is they have only lost two games this season, and both have been to Chelsea. “Beating them in both games, it’s a good psychological advantage,” says Chelsea midfielder Erin Cuthbert, but United believe they are getting closer. “Every time we play Chelsea, we improve,” says United’s captain Katie Zelem. “We know what they are about.” Trying to overcome it is another question, though. In March’s league meeting at Kingsmeadow, Chelsea stifled United without the ball and won the game thanks to a moment of brilliance from Sam Kerr. The Londoners’ approach was one usually reserved for the likes of Barcelona or Lyon in the Champions League, which shows the level of respect this United side are demanding. “What they have done is brilliant,” Cuthbert admitted. “We know what their threats are but it’s about confidence and belief,” Zelem continued. The England international is one of the remaining members of the side that earned promotion from the Championship in 2019, along with Ella Toone, Leah Galton and Millie Turner, and recognises the difference in mentality this season. “We don’t change now for the other teams, whereas in the first few seasons it was more about staying in the game and taking a point or nicking a win.” Zelem added. “Now, you see in a lot of the games we dominate possession, we dominate the ball.” United have also developed a taste for late goals. “‘Fergie time’ is what we used to call that,” Zelem laughs. November’s 3-2 win against Arsenal at the Emirates was the “turning point”, after an 87th-minute equaliser from Turner and a 91st-minute winner from Alessia Russo. It showed United that they could take the next step. “When we play against Arsenal it feels like we have a psychological edge over them now,” Zelem states. “It’s about taking that mentality into Chelsea.” For Chelsea, the challenge will be in how they rise to United’s motivation. “They are a team who are hungry - when you haven’t won anything you’ve got a certain hunger and desire to get there,” Cuthbert says. “We need to match that as a bare minimum if we want to compete and win this battle.” Chelsea will also have the experience of the occasion, while the danger for United is they fail to turn up in the way teams often do after ending a long wait for a major final. “It’s the mentality of who turns up on the day,” says Cuthbert. “Who shows up and is present, and who doesn’t let the game get to them.” You can usually guarantee that Chelsea take to Wembley when they arrive, in the same way a certain Australian striker does. Kerr has scored doubles in each of Chelsea’s previous two FA Cup final wins - the first against Arsenal in 2021 was sensational, the second against Manchester City last season utterly dramatic. This year, Chelsea have hit their stride following defeat to Barcelona in the Nou Camp in the Champions League semi-finals, rattling off a 7-0 win over Everton and a 6-0 win against Leicester in their last two games. Pernille Harder has returned from injury to hit braces in both, in what is a further boost ahead of the rest of the run-in. Having a target to aim for has helped Chelsea. “I like this position,” Hayes said after Wednesday’s Leicester win returned them to a point behind United. “I like putting pressure on others, it’s fun for me.” It hasn’t been much fun for Chelsea’s rivals in previous years, and as United come face to face with the trophy-winning machine who are breathing down their necks at Wembley, it will be their turn to try and avoid a familiar fate. Read More ‘Everyone wants to see us fail’: How Erin Cuthbert drives Chelsea to stay on top ‘Manchester United lives in my heart’: How Katie Zelem epitomises ‘crazy journey’ to FA Cup final Emma Hayes revelling in Chelsea’s WSL title pursuit of Manchester United How Katie Zelem epitomises Man United’s ‘crazy journey’ to FA Cup final Unai Emery urges Aston Villa to grasp European chance ahead of Tottenham clash I love the big games – Sam Kerr relishing FA Cup final at sold-out Wembley

Addison Timlin is divorcing Jeremy Allen White, the Nuggets eliminated the Suns, the Celtics beat the 76ers to force Game 7 and more in the Roundup.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admits his side “were around when miracles happened”, but accepts their destiny is not in their hands this time when it comes to Champions League qualification. A month ago the club were in eighth, 10 points adrift of fourth-placed Manchester United, but six successive victories have propelled them to fifth and only a point behind their rivals, who have a match in hand. It was suggested to Klopp his squad have performed remarkable comebacks before, not least when overturning a 3-0 first-leg deficit to beat Barcelona in the semi-finals of the Champions League they won in 2019. They also came from a seemingly impossible position in the Premier League in 2021 when they they made a late run into the top four, registering eight wins and two draws in their final 10 matches – which included goalkeeper Alisson Becker scoring a 90th-minute winner at West Brom – having been completely out of the running in March. “It is not that we mention it but everyone who was involved in these moments will never forget it in our entire lives,” said Klopp. “That means it is part of us and, you are right, we were around when miracles happened, that is true, but it was then still in our hands. “We had to score against West Brom and we had to win against Barcelona. Now we have to win but that does not mean anything changes because the other teams could win all their games. “I knew weeks ago it was completely out of sight, I couldn’t see it at all, but that did not mean we would not try to get closer. That’s the only thing we did, we got closer.” Klopp recalls Liverpool being in the position of the team being chased in his second full season in 2017-18, and he knows it is not easy for the clubs in possession of the qualification places. Newcastle and United would be happy if we would not be there any more, but still it is more likely they will do it Jurgen Klopp However, he does not believe their recent run, coupled with recent defeats for third-placed Newcastle and United, has been able to exert that much pressure on their top-four rivals. “I am pretty sure we were in a situation like that years ago. I think Chelsea was winning all the time behind us so we had to win all the games,” he said. “It’s not comfortable but in the end we made it anyway. Newcastle and United would be happy if we would not be there any more, but still it is more likely they will do it. “I respect that. If they finish the season above us, they deserve it and that’s how I see it.” Forward Roberto Firmino is set to return to training next week ahead of what could be his final Anfield appearance. The Brazil international is leaving when his contract expires at the end of the season but has missed the last five matches with a muscle problem. With Liverpool having only one more home game, against Aston Villa next Saturday, there was a chance the 31-year-old would not get to say his goodbyes on the pitch. But Klopp raised hopes Firmino could be in his squad for an emotional send-off. “I saw Bobby in training yesterday and it looks like pretty much he is nearly there, but I don’t think he will be in for the weekend,” said the Reds manager. “If I go out of here and he will be in the session, I would be surprised. “I assume that we start with him team training-wise after the Leicester game.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live We’re excited – Eddie Howe says Newcastle are not fearful of top-four battle Kitman Chris Marsh overcomes illness to help support Coventry’s promotion push Premier League and PFA announce new five-year partnership

Injury has forced Jamaican sprint star Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to withdraw from a weekend athletics meet in Kenya that would have signalled the...

Erling Haaland has been voted “Footballer of the Year” in England for his prolific debut season with Manchester City and Chelsea striker Sam Kerr has become the first back-to-back winner of the women’s award