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BARCELONA — Lewis Hamilton claimed his fifth successive Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen after a Mercedes pit-stop masterstroke.

Hamilton moved on to 98 career wins after a surprise second change of tyres hoodwinked Red Bull to lift him 14 points clear of Verstappen in the drivers’ standings.

“It was a really great strategy by the team. What a day!” beamed Hamilton, who was quick to acknowledge the smattering of fans allowed in to watch, a rare occurrence in the time of coronavirus.

“It is great to see. I saw a British flag out there which I haven’t seen for a long, long time. I feel great after this. I feel like I could go again.”

Hamilton had set off from pole for the 100th time but was beaten to the first corner by Verstappen, with Charles Leclerc for Ferrari dishing out the same treatment on Valtteri Bottas on turn two.

On lap eight Yuki Tsunoda’s Sunday drive in Catalonia suffered a premature end when his AlphaTauri came to a grinding halt.

“Engine stop” the Japanese rookie lamented as the safety car emerged briefly to remove the immobile obstacle.

Verstappen held off Hamilton comfortably on the restart on lap 11, with Leclerc continuing to split the two Mercedes.

With a third of the race completed the first round of pit stops began, with all eyes on which of the front two with less than a second between them would blink first.

Verstappen it was who came in on lap 25, but the pit stop was slow by a couple of seconds in another minor but potentially critical error by the Red Bull title pretenders.

‘Sitting duck’

The Mercedes pit wall pulled Hamilton in for a lightning stop a few laps later as they pinned their hopes on fresher medium tyres making the difference towards the finish.

At the midway point Hamilton set the fastest lap to go less than two and a half seconds behind his Dutch rival. The gap was less than a second shortly after.

On lap 43 Mercedes played their ace card.

Hamilton, half a second off the lead, came into the pits for a second new set of mediums.

He reemerged with under 23sec to make up on Verstappen, who with tyre wear was in danger of becoming what he would describe afterwards as “a sitting duck” for the man in pursuit of a record eighth drivers’ title.

Hamilton asked his pit wall: “How far have I got to catch up?”

“Currently 22 seconds... we’ve done it before...” came back the reply.

There was a note of desperation on Red Bull’s radio with Verstappen suggesting “I don’t know how we are going to make it to the end”.

Hamilton moved into second but there was no hint of team orders with Bottas forcing his teammate into full overtaking mode.

Ten laps to go and Hamilton had only three seconds to make up on Verstappen and on lap 60 he did it, surging past the Dutchman on turn one — Toto Wolff, his team boss, punching the air with delight as their masterstroke paid off.

Hamilton said he was in two minds as to whether to obey the order to come in.

“I was about to get a shot to get past him as I pitted. I was really conflicted — ‘do I come in or ignore the call?’. 

“I did what the team asked because there is a great trust between us. Remarkable job by everyone in this team. What a day.”

Red Bull boss Christian Horner was magnanimous in defeat, saying: “In fairness, hats off to Mercedes and Lewis.”

Verstappen said: “We’re not where we want to be and we still need to push hard and catch up because at the moment we are a little bit slower. But compared to last year, it has been a jump for us.”

Bottas took third in the second Mercedes with Leclerc’s Ferrari in fourth and Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull completing the top five.

Formula One takes a breather next weekend before returning for the Monaco Grand Prix with Hamilton possibly having a tilt at his century of wins in Azerbaijan at the start of June.

PARIS — UEFA on Friday announced sanctions, including financial punishments, against nine of the 12 clubs behind the aborted Super League project, after the clubs “apologised” and acknowledged “a mistake”.

The governing body of European football said that “in a spirit of reconciliation” the nine clubs had agreed to a “Club Commitment Declaration” and accepted a 5 per cent cut in their European revenue for one season. 

However, three clubs, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus, did not sign the declaration. 

UEFA said it “reserved all rights to take whatever action it deems appropriate against those clubs that have so far refused to renounce the so-called ‘Super League’. 

“The matter will promptly be referred to the competent UEFA disciplinary bodies,” the statement concluded.

Some media have reported that UEFA is contemplating a two-year ban from European competition for the three holdouts, the maximum its rules allow.

However, their options are clouded by a ruling from a commercial court in Madrid on April 20.

The court banned UEFA and FIFA from making any moves to block a Super League or taking any disciplinary measures against the clubs, players or officials involved. 

It is also unclear what penalties the clubs that have withdrawn may owe to the remaining clubs for breaking their agreement to join the Super league.

The nine clubs that opted out of the project — Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan and, the last to withdraw, AC Milan — have agreed to a series of “reintegration measures”. 

“These clubs recognised their mistakes quickly and have taken action to demonstrate their contrition and future commitment to European football,” said UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin.

“The same cannot be said for the clubs that remain involved in the so-called ‘Super League’ and UEFA will deal with those clubs subsequently.”

The nine have agreed to forego five per cent of their revenue from UEFA competitions for one season and pay, between them, a 15-million-euro ($18.25 million) donation to support grassroots and youth football in Europe.

A spokesperson for Manchester United confirmed the Glazer family, which owns the club, would cover their club’s share of both sums. 

They also committed to participating in UEFA competitions for which they qualify and agreed to pay fines of 100m euros if they ever seek to play in an “unauthorised” competition. 

“It takes a strong organisation to admit making a mistake especially in these days of trial by social media. These clubs have done just that,” said Ceferin.

“In accepting their commitments and willingness to repair the disruption they caused, UEFA wants to put this chapter behind it and move forward in a positive spirit.”

The English Football Association said in a statement that it was “delighted” that the six English clubs had committed to UEFA’s competitions and suggested that it too might punish the clubs.

“The FA has an ongoing inquiry into the involved of the six English clubs and we have formally requested all relevant information and evidence regarding their participation,” the statement. 

“Once we have the required information, we will consider what appropriate steps to take.”

Earlier on Friday, Manchester United co-chairman Joel Glazer wrote to his club’s fans saying he was “personally humbled” by their reactions and understood “why our initial support for the European Super League left you feeling angry and let down”.

“I would like to reiterate my sincere apology for the mistakes that were made,” he said.

Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus on Saturday defended the aborted Super League project after the nine other clubs were given a financial penalty by UEFA for their involvement.

The three clubs said they had received “unacceptable” threats from UEFA and FIFA since the project collapsed just two days after it was announced last month, when six Premier League clubs and three other teams pulled out.

In a joint statement, Real, Barcelona and Juventus said the Super League had been launched “with the aim of providing solutions to the current unsustainable situation in the football industry”.

They argued that they and the nine clubs who withdrew under pressure from supporters’ protests “shared the same concerns... that structural reforms are indispensable to ensure our sport stays appealing and survives in the long term”.

Real, Barcelona and Juventus said: “We regret to see that our friends and founding partners of the Super League project have now found themselves in such an inconsistent and contradictory position when signing a number of commitments to UEFA yesterday.”

The clubs responded that “the founding clubs have suffered, and continue to suffer, unacceptable third-party pressures [and] threats.”

PARIS — For the second time in three years the UEFA Champions League final will be an all-English affair, with the financial might of the Premier League and the backing of mega-rich owners helping clear the path to Istanbul for Chelsea and Manchester City.

They initially signed up for the breakaway Super League, along with the rest of England's so-called 'Big Six', before withdrawing from the controversial plan.

The Super League could never have gone ahead without the biggest clubs from the Premier League, but England's giants had the least to gain from it.

The English top flight is by far the most lucrative in Europe, with broadcasting deals that dwarf those elsewhere.

That allowed Liverpool to collect £152.4 million ($211m) in prize money in 2018/19, the last full season before the pandemic. Even relegated Huddersfield Town picked up 96.6 million pounds, more than Bayern Munich got for winning the Bundesliga.

Such rewards have helped establish the Premier League at the forefront of European football. In terms of English dominance in Europe, we have been here before.

In 2019, as Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur to win the Champions League, Chelsea defeated Arsenal in the Europa League final.

According to analysts Deloitte's Football Money League, the three top-earning clubs in the world last season were Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern, with Manchester United and Liverpool following on.

However, 12 of the top 30 were Premier League clubs, with even Sheffield United earning more than AC Milan.

Wealthy backers are attracted from abroad to buy England's biggest clubs, and so it is that Chelsea and City, the two clearest examples of what impact mega-rich benefactors can have, come to meet in the final.

This is Chelsea's third final since Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich bought the London club in 2003.

After losing to Manchester United in the 2008 final, the first between two English clubs, Chelsea won it in 2012.

Now they have made it back, coincidentally after spending close to 250 million euros ($300 million) on new signings last summer.

It is City's first Champions League final since Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Mansour bought the club in 2008.

Istanbul will come almost exactly 22 years after City needed penalties to beat Gillingham in the English third-tier play-off final. It has been some transformation.

The financial rewards of the Premier League and the investment of their owners has helped these clubs, along with Liverpool, Spurs, United and Arsenal, to attract many of the world's best players but also, crucially, the very best coaches.

Premier League 'extraordinary'

Chelsea and City's success is as much the success of the men in the dugout, with Pep Guardiola close to cementing his status as the finest coach of his generation and Thomas Tuchel leading the Stamford Bridge side to the final little over three months after being appointed.

Chelsea were underperforming under Frank Lampard. Now they are supremely well-organised and the impact of top-class coaching is clear to see — they have kept 18 clean sheets in 24 matches under Tuchel, who took Paris Saint-Germain to last season's final.

"Here I have found such a strong club, a club totally focused on winning, with a very strong mentality, where I have had so much support since the first day, and the Premier League is extraordinary because you don't get the chance to put your feet up," Tuchel told French broadcaster RMC.

"You always have to give 100 per cent and that has an impact on the mentality of the club and the players."

Unlike their semifinal opponents PSG, City have not thrown money at just a couple of superstar players but rather invested in building the perfect squad and support staff for Guardiola.

"This club is about all the people that work behind the scenes, it's not just about money. If you want to think that then you are wrong," Guardiola said.

It is almost impossible for him to fail, and they stand on the verge of a third Premier League title in four seasons as well as possible Champions League glory.

In 2019 it was Jurgen Klopp who saw off Mauricio Pochettino in Madrid.

Now, after Bayern took the trophy to Germany last year, it will be either a Spaniard or a German leading either an Emirati or Russian-owned club to Champions League victory, but the English will happily take the glory.

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom — Pep Guardiola said Manchester City’s first ever Champions League final had been five years in the making after Riyad Mahrez’s double saw off Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 on Tuesday to seal a 4-1 semifinal aggregate win.

City will look to set the seal on a third Premier League title in the past four seasons in the coming days as they remain on course for a treble, having already lifted the League Cup.

But their previous four Champions League campaigns under Guardiola ended in anguish before the semifinal stage.

Guardiola has won the competition twice before as a coach during his time at Barcelona.

However, the Catalan has also endured a decade of disappointment in Europe’s premier club competition since.

“It is for all of us and the club. I’m incredibly proud,” said Guardiola. “Getting to the final now makes sense of what we have done in the past four or five years. Every day these guys have been consistent and this is remarkable.”

Mahrez’s goal also decided the first leg and the Algerian, who grew up in the Parisian suburbs, haunted his home town team again with two clinical finishes early in each half.

The final in Istanbul on May 29 against Real Madrid or Chelsea is the culmination of City’s rise since an Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008 transformed the club’s fortunes.

Meanwhile, four years on from making Neymar and Kylian Mbappe the world’s two most expensive players, PSG’s wait for a first Champions League title goes on.

Mbappe could only watch on from the stands due to a calf injury as, just like in last week’s first leg, his side imploded after an excellent first-half performance.

The visitors were left to rue huge missed chances by Marquinhos and Angel Di Maria in between Mahrez’s strikes before Di Maria lashed out at Fernandinho to leave PSG down to 10 men for the final 20 minutes.

“We started really well, creating chances and dominating Manchester City,” said PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino. “That’s not easy. Not many teams can dominate a team like Manchester City.”

However, the Argentine, who had to come onto the pitch to calm his players after Di Maria saw red, admitted his side’s indiscipline had cost them.

Idrissa Gueye was also sent off late in the first leg for a shocking challenge on Ilkay Gundogan.

“Over the 180 minutes, for 40 or 45 minutes we played with 10 men,” added Pochettino. “That’s a massive advantage.”

The French champions thought they had an early penalty to get back in the tie when Oleksandr Zinchenko was penalised for handball.

However, Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers rightly reversed his initial decision on seeing a replay of the ball bouncing off the Ukrainian’s shoulder.

Zinchenko was heavily involved again when the opening goal arrived at the other end.

He raced onto City goalkeeper Ederson’s thunderous long pass into the PSG area. Zinchenko’s cut-back found Kevin De Bruyne and after the Belgian’s shot was blocked, Mahrez pounced to slot home on his weaker right foot.

The tie was still far from over as PSG penned City back and should have been at least level on the night before half-time.

Marquinhos has made a habit of scoring big Champions League goals and the Brazilian was inches away from another when his looping header came back off the crossbar.

Ederson then nearly undid his good work as Di Maria intercepted his hurried throw to Bernardo Silva and flashed a shot inches wide with the Brazilian ‘keeper stranded outside his goal.

Pochettino will wonder what could have been had Mbappe been fit with his replacement Icardi ineffective.

Neymar only ever showed flashes of his brilliance with City’s impressive defence led by Ruben Dias able to focus on stopping the Brazilian without Mbappe to worry about.

Guardiola’s men have always shown enough quality going forward and a clinical counter-attack killed off the tie on 63 minutes.

De Bruyne freed Phil Foden down the left and his inch-perfect cross was blasted high past Keylor Navas by Mahrez.

In a repeat of the first leg, PSG’s discipline went with their hopes of reaching the final.

Di Maria needlessly stamped on Fernandinho to be shown a straight red card before Marco Verratti was lucky to escape seeing a second yellow.

“They lost their nerve and started to kick us,” said Mahrez, rubbing salt in PSG wounds. “After the red card it was good for us.”

LONDON — Chelsea welcome Real Madrid to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday still with much to do to reach the Champions League final after failing to land the killer blow when the 13-time European champions were on the ropes in last week’s first leg.

A 1-1 draw in the Spanish capital still gives the Blues the upper hand thanks to their away goal, but Thomas Tuchel’s men could have had a much more convincing advantage but for a tale of two strikers.

In a story of his first season at Chelsea, Timo Werner missed a glorious chance to put his side in front early as the outstretched leg of Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois denied his old club.

That miss even provoked criticism from the wife of Werner’s teammate Thiago Silva.

“Every team I go to there is a striker who keeps missing goals,” Isabelle da Silva posted in a since deleted Instagram message.

At the other end, after Christian Pulisic had put Chelsea in front, Karim Benzema needed barely a half-chance to blast Real back on level terms for his 28th goal of the season and become the joint fourth highest goalscorer in Champions League history.

Those are the sorts of numbers Chelsea expected when they paid £47 million ($65 million) for Werner last June at a time when other clubs, including Madrid, were scrambling to find the money just to pay their players as the coronavirus pandemic halted football across Europe.

Backed by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, Chelsea were the club least deterred by the pandemic as they splashed out a total of £220 million in the transfer market last summer.

That expense has been rewarded by a return to the last four of the Champions League for the first time in seven years.

Yet, none of the attacking trio of new signings, Werner, Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech have consistently shown their best form.

Havertz and Ziyech started the first leg on the bench, but Tuchel has remained loyal to Werner since taking charge in January despite his lack of goals.

The German international has scored just three times in his lasst 38 games for club and country, one of which came against fourth-tier Morecambe in the FA Cup.

Tammy Abraham has been linked with a move away from west London due to his limited opportunities under Tuchel, while 34-year-old Olivier Giroud is out of the contract at the end of the season.

‘No panic’

The need for a prolific goalscorer to back up the significant defensive improvement since Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard has even sparked rumours Abramovich could be forced to spend big again.

Chelsea are among a number of clubs interested in Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland.

But Tuchel remains confident that Werner can prove to be the consistent finisher the club need.

“You will not find one manager who will not add a 20-goal striker to his squad. I cannot have enough of them, if you can guarantee that,” said Tuchel when asked about interest in Haaland.

“But this is what Chelsea bought, they bought Timo Werner and he is a 20, 30-goal striker a year. Now he is struggling a little bit, for the first time in his career.

“In any transfer, there are risks of adaptations, change of country, change of mentality. It needs time. It’s not a puzzle where you identify one piece and you go out and find the exact piece, it’s more than that and that’s why there is no rush and no panic.”

There have been bright moments in the 25-year-old’s difficult first year in England.

His slick pass into Havertz for his second goal in a 2-0 win over Fulham on Saturday took Werner’s tally for assists for the season to 10, to compliment his 11 goals.

But he desperately needs a big moment to quieten his doubters.

The chance to knock Real Madrid out in the Champions League semi-finals is the perfect stage to prove his worth.

LOS ANGELES — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a season-high 49 points in his return from an injury as the Milwaukee Bucks overcame Kevin Durant’s 42-point performance to beat the Brooklyn Nets 117-114 on Sunday.

Two-time reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Antetokounmpo, who had been dealing with a sprained right ankle, outdueled Durant in the Eastern Conference clash between the two highest-scoring teams in the league.

Antetokounmpo finished just three points short of his career high, which he set two years ago against Philadelphia.

“Tonight that picture I created, that’s who I want to be moving forward,” said Antetokounmpo. “It doesn’t matter if I score 49 points. I don’t care about that.

“What I care about is how I slowed down, how I was able to find my teammates. How if I missed one, missed a second one, missed a third one and still be able to come down and shoot another one. This is what I believe I can be.”

Antetokounmpo shot 21-of-36 from the floor and added eight rebounds while teammate Khris Middleton finished with a double-double of 26 points and 11 rebounds.

Durant equalled a season-high 42 and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Eastern Conference-leading Nets, who are trying to hang onto first place during the final stretch of the regular season.

Antetokounmpo said he didn’t want to get into a scoring duel with Durant and just tried to focus on the strengths in his game.

“KD is one of the greatest scorers ever to play the game,” Antetokounmpo said. “If you try to go back and forth with him, he’s going to score 70. I was able to slow down and get to my spots. I kept being aggressive.”

The two teams play again on Tuesday night in Milwaukee in a rivalry many see as a play-off preview.

Kyrie Irving scored 20 points and Landry Shamet tallied 17 for the Nets, who have won four of their past six games.

Elsewhere, Pascal Siakam and Kyle Lowry combined for 76 points as the Toronto Raptors kept their playoff hopes alive with a 121-114 win over the struggling Los Angeles Lakers, who saw superstar LeBron James exit in the fourth quarter.

Siakam finished with a season high 39 points and 13 rebounds and Lowry delivered 37 points and 11 assists in a Sunday showdown between the two last teams to win NBA championships.

The Lakers have lost six of their last seven and are learning that the insertion of James back into the line-up isn’t going to be a cure-all. 

James shot six-of-11 from the floor and finished with 19 points in 28 minutes but the 36 year old also had five turnovers in just his second game back after missing 20 with a right ankle injury he suffered on March 20.

James left Sunday’s game halfway through the fourth quarter and did not return.

James sore

“He was battling some soreness,” said Laker coach Frank Vogel. “We decided not to bring him back. We will see how he’s feeling tomorrow.”

The win leaves the Raptors two and a half games behind Washington in the battle for the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference. The seventh through 10 seeds qualify for the postseason play-in round.

Also, Boston Celtic starters Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum did not finish their 129-119 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers after they collided into each other in the final minute of the fourth quarter.

The collision happened while they were defending a Trail Blazers inbound pass. They both hobbled off to the dressing room with the game out of reach. Tatum said later that his injury was not serious.

In San Antonio, Ben Simmons made a game-winning tip-in at the buzzer and Joel Embiid scored 34 points and seized 12 rebounds as the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the San Antonio Spurs 113-111 in the Alamo City.

PORTIMAO, Portugal — Lewis Hamil­ton delivered a flawless drive in his Mercedes to win the Portuguese Grand Prix on Sunday from his arch title rival Max Verstappen.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton’s 97th Grand Prix tri­umph extended his early season lead over Red Bull’s Verstappen in the Formula One driv­ers’ standings to eight points.

In third place in Porti­mao was pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas in the other Mercedes with Sergio Perez in the sec­ond Red Bull in fourth.

“That was such a tough race physically and mentally. I didn’t get a good start and also lost out at the re­start but it was a great result in the end,” said Hamilton.

“Today wasn’t all per­fect and we need to get ready now for the quick turnaround for Spain.”

At a sun-drenched Al­garve International Cir­cuit Bottas led Hamilton from the two Red Bulls into the first corner.

By the end of lap one it was the safety car which led after the two Alfa Romeos collided, with Kimi Raikkonen’s front wing littered across the straight after clipping Antonio Gio­vinazzi’s car.

Bottas carefully con­trolled the rolling re­start on lap seven but in his rearview mirror he will have seen Verstap­pen charge past Hamil­ton and into second.

‘Sitting duck’

“That a boy” was the pleased reaction on the team radio from the Red Bull pits.

But four laps later and a mistake by the Dutchman on turn 14 let Hamilton regain second, darting past on the inside with Ver­stappen snapping: “I’m just a sitting duck on the straight. It’s unbelievable.”

Hamilton hit the front with a superb sweeping move past Bottas at the start of lap 20, quickly establishing daylight between the Mercedes men.

Verstappen was the first of the leading group to pit on lap 36, with Bottas next, fol­lowed by Hamilton, with Perez yet to change tyres, in front.

With 13 laps left Hamilton pushed past Perez to regain control of the third leg of the record 23-race season, and from there the race was his to lose.

“I think Max made a mistake at some point and that was perfect. With Valtteri I had to make the move early on before the tyres were destroyed and I just managed to get him at turn one. Right on my limit. Great race,” added Hamilton.

“We were not on top of it here but we’ll see what we can do in Bar­celona,” said Verstap­pen, referring to next weekend’s race in Spain.

Intrigue in the closing stages surrounded the question of who would end up with a potential­ly crucial point for the fastest lap.

Verstappen thought he’d clinched it only for his effort to be ruled out due to track limits with Bottas eventually taking the honours.

The Red Bulls are emerging as serious challengers to Mer­cedes’ supremacy but the world champions have evidently worked hard to redress any im­balance in performance between the two teams.

And after three legs of the season it is Ham­ilton in his quest for a record eighth world crown that has won twice, adding this to his opening success in Bah­rain, with Verstappen the winner in Imola.

Sitting third in the drivers’ standings is Lando Norris for re­surgent McLaren after the Briton took fifth on Sunday.

He came in ahead of the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, with the Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso, Dan­iel Ricciardo (McLaren) and the AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly completing the top 10.