Cristiano Ronaldo: Real Madrid forward enjoys 'beautiful night'

Cristiano Ronaldo took his tally to 46 for the season for Real Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo hit back at his critics after his 37th Real Madrid hat-trick helped them reach the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Real overturned a 2-0 first-leg deficit to beat Wolfsburg 3-2 on Tuesday.

In February, the Portuguese forward walked out of a Champions League news conference after being questioned about his record in away matches this season.

"Considering this has been a 'bad' season for me, it has not been that bad," Ronaldo, 31, said after victory.

He scored twice in three minutes early on to cancel out Wolfsburg's advantage, sweeping home at the back post from six yards before glancing a header into the far corner.

He completed his hat-trick and sealed Real's place in the last four with a 25-yard free-kick 13 minutes from time at the Bernabeu Stadium.

Ronaldo, who was booed by his own supporters during the 2-0 second-leg victory over Roma in the last 16, took his tally to 46 goals in all competitions this season, including 16 in the Champions League.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the top goalscorer in both the Champions League and La Liga this season

"It was not the best, but one of my best, European nights," said Ronaldo.

"It was a magic night for me. I'm very happy after having scored three goals and raise my numbers, but the most important thing was the team. The team was intense and played very well. It is a beautiful night."

"People can criticise me but I just keep on going and the numbers are there for all to see. I am very happy and with a month left of the season I can get even better.

"It's not bad, is it? Goals are in my DNA and I want to keep scoring them for the team."

Real coach Zinedine Zidane said: "What can I tell you about Cristiano? He is demonstrating how good he is. He makes the difference.

"He is the best player in the world and nights like tonight make him a special player. Cristiano needs the whole team too but not everyone can score three goals in a game."

Manchester City reached the semi-finals by beating Paris St-Germain, while Atletico Madrid face Barcelona and Benfica meet Bayern Munich on Wednesday for the final two places.

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Fernando Alonso a doubt for Chinese Grand Prix

Fernando Alonso has been unable to do his normal full training programme in the two-week gap since the race in Bahrain

Fernando Alonso says he does not know whether he will be able to race in this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver was ruled out of the last race in Bahrain because of a broken rib sustained in his terrifying accident at the season-opening race in Australia.

The two-time champion said: "Until I get the all-clear from the doctors to race we cannot assume anything.

"But I'm continuing to prepare for the race weekend as normal."

The Spaniard, who has been in China since Monday, will be examined by doctors of governing body the FIA on his arrival at the Shanghai track on Thursday.

Alonso has been unable to do his normal full training programme in the two-week gap between Bahrain and China as a result of his injury.

Last week, the 34-year-old posted images of himself on social media returning to training and wrote: "Gradually increasing the training session. Mainly indoor bicycle and elastics. (The ones you are allowed with a broken rib ...)! Happy with how things are going."

Alonso spent the weekend at a luxury resort in Tuscany before flying to the Far East.

If he cannot race in Shanghai, he will again be replaced by McLaren's reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne.

The 24-year-old Belgian impressed in Bahrain by out-qualifying team-mate Jenson Button on his grand prix debut and scoring a point for 10th place.

NBA: Kobe Bryant & Golden State Warriors ticket prices soar

Kobe Bryant (left) could add to his 33,583 points in his final game on Wednesday, while Stephen Curry's Golden State Warriors are seeking a record 73 wins

Basketball fans are paying up to $27,500 (£19,315) to see Kobe Bryant's final game for the LA Lakers.

Bryant, 37, the third-highest scorer in NBA history, will bring his 20-year career to an end when the Lakers face Utah Jazz in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

At the same time, defending champions Golden State Warriors will be going for a record 73 wins when they host Memphis Grizzlies in Oakland, California.

Resale tickets for that game are going for up to $15,900 (£11,155).

The Warriors are looking to break a record set by Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls in 1995-96.

The game is a 19,595 capacity sell-out with tickets only available via the resale market. Tickets via official channels start at $336 (£236) and rise to £15,900 for courtside seats on resale websites such as Stubhub.

Only resale tickets can be bought for the Lakers' game at the 18,118-capacity Staples Center too, with prices fetching between $700 (£491) and $27,500 for the chance to see 18-time all-star and five-time championship winner Bryant for a final time.

The Lakers have issued a fraud alert to fans warning them to only buy from their official ticket exchange, where fans can resell tickets securely. However, buyers using the official exchange can still expect to pay up to $10,000 (£7,000) to see the game.

County Championship: Ian Bell century gives Warwickshire lead against Hampshire

an Bell is playing his first game as Warwickshire's new county captain

Specsavers County Championship Division One, Ageas Bowl

Hampshire v Warwickshire (close, day three)

Hampshire 202: McLaren 84no, Barker 5-58, Clarke 3-43

Warwickshire 283-6: Bell 130no, Woakes 66, Edwards 3-80

Warwhire 5 pts, Hampshire 2 pts

Match scorecard

Warwickshire captain Ian Bell made his first century in 10 months to give the England selectors a nudge and earn a first-innings lead against Hampshire.

Bell's six-hour vigil for an unbeaten 130, his 51st first-class hundred, has given the Bears a slim hope of victory.

After Monday's lost day, it took just four overs for the Bears to wrap up Hampshire's first innings for 202.

Warwickshire then struggled to 132-5, before Chris Woakes (66) helped Bell steer them to 283-6 at the close.

Building on Keith Barker's five-wicket haul on the first day, Rikki Clarke got the third day off to a good start for Warwickshire with two early wickets, starting with Ryan McLaren, to earn him figures of 3-43.

Having rescued Hampshire from 87-7 on Sunday, McLaren only added one to his overnight score before playing a Clarke bouncer onto his own stumps, departing for 85.

West Indian Fidel Edwards then slapped a four straight down the ground to earn a batting point before holing out, leaving James Tomlinson stranded on 23.

Edwards then gave Hampshire the perfect start by removing both openers, former Bears captains Ian Westwood and Varun Chopra.

But helped by partnerships of 49 with Jonathan Trott (27) and Sam Hain (25), and with Hampshire short of the injured Reece Topley, Bell took control.

Just a day after his 34th birthday, and on the same day that the sad news ofJames Taylor's early retirement broke, he shared a 151-run stand with Woakes, his fellow England hopeful, although the latter fell lbw to Edwards with the final ball of the day.

Warwickshire captain Ian Bell on James Taylor's retirement:

"It is an immensely sad day. We couldn't believe it when we were told this morning. Thoughts are with Titch and with a speedy recovery.

"He is one of the top blokes in English cricket and I know Chris Woakes is very close and really upset. It is shocking news."

Hampshire captain James Vince on James Taylor's retirement:

"It has been extremely sad. It is never nice when news like that comes out especially for someone who is so dedicated and hard working for the sport. To have it taken away like that is heart-breaking.

"He has always been an excellent performer and his numbers have been excellent. He had the world ahead of him in terms of international cricket and an extremely sad day."

View from the commentary box

BBC Coventry & Warwickshire's Clive Eakin:

"Warwickshire may have to pay a price for the way two of their players dominated the third day. The performances of Ian Bell and Chris Woakes in sharing a stand of 151 suggest they may be away from their county again and back in the England set-up before very long.

"Bell's century may not have been the most entertaining of the 51 he has scored in first class cricket, but it was calm, confident and faultless, apart from surviving a stumping chance on 95.

"Woakes paced his innings impressively and, having bowled well on the first day, has enhanced his international prospects.

"Hampshire will take encouragement from the way they kept Warwickshire tied down for long spells despite being a bowler light due to Reece Topley's injury and spinner Liam Dawson in particular bowled very tightly."

Masters 2016: Danny Willett predicts 'special' times ahead

Winning the Masters is a "fantastic start" to achieving "special things" in golf, says Danny Willett.

The Yorkshireman, 28, is the first European winner at Augusta since 1999 and only the fourth British champion.

"It's a great feeling and hopefully one we can have many more times," said Willett of his first major victory.

Willett's manager Chubby Chandler said the golfer could win another major this year and become number one in the world "without any doubt".

Carding a final-round five-under-par 67, the Englishman took advantage of defending champion Jordan Spieth dropping six shots in three holes.

The last European to win at Augusta was Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal, while the only other British champions have been Nick Faldo (1989, 1990, 1996), Sandy Lyle (1988) and Ian Woosnam (1991).

Chandler said Willett, a 2007 Walker Cup team-mate of three-time major winner Rory McIlroy, could "become one of the greats of his time".

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"He won't be distracted. He knows exactly what he's trying to do. Winning the Masters is the start of the journey, not the end of the journey," said Chandler.

"He knows exactly how many majors Rory has won and he will want to get up there and past Rory's tally. If you take Tiger Woods out, what is the next best tally of majors among current players? Phil Mickeslon with five."

Atleti pile pressure on wobbly Barca in Spain while Leicester continue march towards stunning Premier League title in England

It was certainly a week to forget for Barcelona in terms of domestic league displays.

The Catalan giants followed up their El Clasico defeat by arch rivals Real Madrid a week ago with a 1-0 loss to Real Sociedad at the weekend.

Mikel Oyarzabal scored the only goal as Barca’s wait for a first away win over Sociedad since 2007 continued.

It wasn’t the best way to warm up for their Champions League quarter-final second leg against their La Liga title rivals Atletico Madrid, who in turn will be full of confidence after their 3-1 league win over Espanyol – a result that blew the title race wide open.

Diego Simeone’s men maintained the pressure on pace setters Barca when they came from behind for the win.

Antoine Griezmann, Fernando Torres and Koke all found the back of the net as the capital club reduced Baca’s lead to just three points – only three weeks ago Barca’s lead was nine points.

They will now look to overturn a 2-1 deficit scoreline when they host Barca in the champions League on Wednesday.

Fearless Foxes

This time last season Leicester City were bottom of the table – 12 months on and they are on the verge of winning a the club’s very first English topflight title.

On Sunday Jamie Vardy scored a double to hand the fearless Foxes a 2-0 win over relegation strugglers Sunderland.

With his brace Vardy reached 21 league goals for the season – the first player from the club to surpass 20 goals since Gary Lineker 31 years ago.

Claudio Ranieri’s men are seven points clear of second placed Tottenham – who thumped Manchester United 3-0 the same day – and need three wins from their last five games to seal a remarkable Premier League crown.

Up and down

Up next is a list of players and clubs that stole the limelight for good or bad from last weekend’s action. It’s our up and down segment.

On the up is Cristiano Ronaldo whose goal scoring abilities are second to none. And the stats are there to prove it. At the weekend he scored against Eibar to become the first player in Europe’s top five leagues to reach the 30-goal mark in six consecutive seasons.

Andy Carroll is Up after hammering home a seven-minute hat-trick against Arsenal in a gripping 3-3 draw. His exploit in front of goal has given England manager Roy Hodgson a selection headache for Euro 2016. Will it be enough to persuade him to take a punt on the player – time will tell.

On the down is French first division side Monaco who were beaten 4-1 by Lille on match day 33. With the defeat the principality club relinquished second place in the league to Olympique Lyonnais, who six games ago were trailing Monaco by 10 points.

Road to Euro

There are two months to go until Euro 2016 and we will end our trip through the competition’s past with one of the coaches who re-wrote the football history books and is now hoping to write another chapter to his remarkable story this summer in France.

By leading Spain to victory at Euro 2012, Vicente Del Bosque became the first coach in history to win titles at theUEFA European Championship, the Fifa World Cup (South Africa 2010 with Spain) and the UEFA Champions League (with Real Madrid 1999-2000, 2001-2002).

We might be wrong

We’re not far off knowing which clubs are going to play the Champions League’s semi-finals. We already know the results of the quarter final first legs; but what about the return legs? Here are our predictions for those games. Add yours via social media using #TheCornerScores.

Manchester City 2-1 Paris Saint-Germain
Real Madrid 3-0 Wolfsburg
Atlético de Madrid 1-0 Barcelona
Benfica 2-1 Bayern Munich

Bloopers

Very often, the goalkeepers are the main content suppliers of our ‘‘Bloopers’‘ segment. Today we’re going to show you two of them. One, really lucky. The other, really clumsy. (Check out video above)

Ukraine: Tough challenges ahead for next government

Ukraine is in political turmoil as it seeks to form a new government.

It follows the resignation of Prime MinisterArseniy Yatsenyuk. His likely replacement is parliamentary speaker Volodymyr Groysman.

It is hoped a new stable coalition will push through reforms and reassure Ukraine’s chief backers, not least theIMF.

“Groysman’s government will first of all have to focus on the development of the economy and look for economic growth,” political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko told euronews.

“The second important issue is to concentrate on social policies. Here, Groysman will have to find a balance between the IMF’s requests and the needs of social stability.”

Political infighting and corruption scandals fractured the Yatsenyuk administration. If appointed, Groysman, a long-standing ally of Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko, has a tough challenge ahead.

“We have to talk about things that have not been done,” said Svitlana Zalishuk, a Member of Parliament with President Petro Poroshenko’s bloc.

“And this is why people are so disappointed with the government. Because it is also the price that society has to pay with these slow reforms, with not enough of the implementation of those policies that have been adopted in the parliament. We still didn’t manage to break away this vicious circle of corruption.”

US Vice President Joe Biden raised the need for more economic reforms in a phone call with the outgoing prime minister.

“I think the main focus should be the continuation of the reform process… IMF programme continuation and focussing now on privatisation because Ukraine has many, many assets it can privatise, which could potentially bring in billions of dollars of new investment,” said Andy Hunder, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine.