Chelsea draw in Madrid; Sexton ruled out of Champions Cup semi-final

Chelsea failed to kill off the tie as Real Madrid showed their battling qualities in last night's Champions League semi-final first leg. Christian Pulisic's superb opening goal was cancelled out by a beautifully taken Karim Benzema effort as Chelsea came away from the Spanish capital with only an away goal advantage despite such an impressive performance. Manchester City and PSG meet in tonight's other semi-final - El Gasico? El Cashico? "Perhaps it is possible to register our distaste at the circumstances by which the spectacle has come about, while also feeling obscenely excited about the spectacle itself. Because make no mistake: this is a game worth getting excited about."

Leinster outhalf and captain Johnny Sexton has been ruled out of the province's Champions Cup semi-final away to La Rochelle next Sunday, but assistant coach Robin McBryde backs Ross Byrne to be 'all over things'. An outbreak of Covid-19 in Fiji, which has been identified as an 'Indian variant', has led to ban on all international and inter-island travel on the Pacific Island. One of the consequences will most likely lead to the cancellation of Ireland's proposed three-test tour this summer. Warren Gatland will be able to call on players based in England for the British and Irish Lions warm-up camp in Jersey and pre-tour Test against Japan after an agreement was reached with the Premiership clubs. Gordon D'Arcy asks in his column this morning (Subscriber Only), just why would Ronan O'Gara want to coach Munster?

Not for the first time the hype machine spluttered at Punchestown on Tuesday when Colreevy made a mockery of presumptive expectations about any head-to-head between Monkfish and Envoi Allen. It was the third leg of a Grade One hat-trick for Willie Mullins on an opening day of the festival that yielded the champion trainer a spectacular five consecutive winners in all. Kemboy could cap another big day out for Mullins, he'll try to defend his Gold Cup title this afternoon. Read Brian O'Connor's preview here.

Meanwhile Mark Selby established a 6-2 advantage in his quarter-final with Mark Williams at the World Snooker Championship. On the other table Judd Trump and Shaun Murphy finished the day locked at 4-4. Anthony McGill moved to within four frames of a second successive semi-final appearance by hitting back to gain the upper hand on Stuart Bingham. Neil Robertson's quarter-final clash with Kyren Wilson is tantalisingly poised at 8-8 following two captivating sessions.