Manchester City could clinch the Premier League title on Sunday after two goals in the space of 83 seconds saw off a stubborn Crystal Palace.

City will secure a third title in four seasons if second-placed Manchester United lose at home to Liverpool.

After a scrappy first half at Selhurst Park, Sergio Aguero thumped City ahead with a clinical finish before Ferran Torres drilled in a low shot.

That ended the resistance of Palace, who stay in 13th place.

Roy Hodgson’s side had chances in the first half through Christian Benteke, who flicked a header wide and had a close-range shot blocked by City keeper Ederson.

But once City made their breakthrough when Aguero smashed high into the net, quickly followed by Torres’ precise finish, the result was not in doubt.

Now it is a question of when, not if, Pep Guardiola’s side will be crowned champions again after relinquishing the crown to Liverpool last season.

“We can start to put the champagne in the fridge – not to open yet, but to think about it,” said Guardiola, whose side moved 11 points clear of United.

“The Premier League is already there – it is in our hands. We need one more victory, two more points.”

Aguero inspires City once again

Not for the first time, but perhaps the last, Aguero provided the inspiration for City as they close in on another trophy.

The 32-year-old Argentine will leave when his contract expires at the end of the season after playing such an instrumental role in their success since arriving in 2011.

While he might no longer be deemed by Guardiola as a key starter in City’s biggest games, there was a sense of inevitability that Aguero would still have a significant impact in their chase for the Treble as his iconic spell at the club comes towards an end.

Playing slightly deeper behind Gabriel Jesus, Aguero was at the heart of City’s brighter attacking moments in a first half when they lacked quality in the final third of the field.

Yet they had not managed a shot on target until the ball came into the Palace box from the left and Aguero took a deft touch to create space and blast a powerful shot into the roof of the net.

It was a reminder of the quality he still possesses, which is leaving the leading clubs in the world reportedly eyeing a move for him in the summer.

“I’m so happy because it has been a long time since I played 90 minutes and the goal was good because maybe we can win the Premier League,” said Aguero, who said he did not know if he will watch United’s game against Liverpool.

“Always I’m ready. I am feeling good. I always want the opportunity to play like today.”

City round off a wonderful week

As far as weeks in the world of football go, City have enjoyed one which could not have been more perfect.

Starting on Sunday when they won the Carabao Cup final against Tottenham, and continuing on Wednesday with the impressive victory at Paris St-Germain in the Champions League semi-final first leg, Guardiola’s squad perfectly rounded off a pivotal week.

With the second leg coming up on Tuesday, Guardiola shuffled his team by making eight changes and they initially lacked rhythm against a well-drilled Palace side.

After Jesus saw a close-range finish ruled out for offside, City went into the break having failed to manage a shot on target in the first half for the first time in 21 matches.

Patience and second-half improvement had been the key to the win in Paris and so it proved again.

Guardiola’s demeanour was buoyant and relaxed after securing a vital win, having been able to rest key players and seemingly avoiding picking up any injuries.

Now he switches focus to completing the job against PSG on Tuesday and taking City into their first Champions League final.

‘What a man, I am in love as a person’ – reaction

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson: “Unfortunately we were playing against a team with so much technical ability. You have got to work so very hard to keep them at bay.

“The first goal was just a fantastic pass, control and shot.

“After all the good work you’ve done to keep them at bay, you’re then looking at 1-0 to Man City and you know you’ve got to work hard to score a goal or two.

“As a result they could take their foot off the gas and run through the latter part of the game quite easily.”

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola on Sergio Aguero: “What a goal, what an action, what a player, what a man. I am incredibly delighted he is back.

“He is going to enjoy the last games. He showed with his goal what he has been and what he is. I am in love as a person He is an incredible guy.

“After the Champions League it is always tough but the players who didn’t play in Paris spoke on the grass and they did it perfectly.”

Why City are enjoying their travels – stats of the day

• Palace have suffered three consecutive Premier League defeats for the first time since July 2020 (a run of seven)
• City enjoyed their 11th away league victory in a row, equalling the English top-flight record for consecutive away wins – Chelsea (Apr-Dec 2008) and City (May-Dec 2017)
• No team have conceded more Premier League goals from outside the box this season than Palace (11, level with Sheffield United)
• City’s second goal was their 700th in all competitions under Pep Guardiola, 157 more than any other Premier League side since he took over in 2016
• City had to wait until the 57th minute to register a shot on target, their longest wait in the Premier League since November 2019 v Southampton (70th minute)
• Raheem Sterling has failed to score and registered only one assist in his past 11 appearances in all competitions for City, after netting six and assisting two in the previous nine

The red dirt on the shoes is included as Roger Federer prepares to auction off some of the kit that has taken him to a record 20 Grand Slam men’s singles titles.

Among the items going under the hammer on 23 June are clothing and racquets the Swiss great used in his 2009 French Open final win over Robin Soderling – his sole Roland Garros title – and the smart white cardigan he donned for his 2012 Wimbledon final win over Andy Murray.

The price tag estimates for the 20 lots being auctioned by Christie’s range from £3,000 to £70,000, with the clothing and racquet he used in his victory over great rival Rafael Nadal in the 2007 Wimbledon final expected to fetch £30,000-£50,000.

If your wallet does not stretch that far, there is also an auction for 300 smaller items – such as wristbands he wore in his 1,500th professional match, in July – with proceeds from both going to Federer’s charitable foundation.

“Every piece in these auctions represents a moment in my tennis career and enables me to share a part of my personal archive with my fans around the world,” Federer, 39, said.

“More importantly, the proceeds will support The Roger Federer Foundation to help us continue to deliver educational resources to children in Africa and Switzerland.”

Christie’s low estimate values the collection at £1m but it hopes it may reach £1.5m.

Valtteri Bottas butted in on the Lewis Hamilton-Max Verstappen show in qualifying at the Portuguese Grand Prix, adding a new dynamic to the unfolding narrative of the 2021 Formula 1 season.

A slightly bizarre qualifying session in changeable, windy conditions ended with the Finn pipping Hamilton to pole position by just 0.007 seconds; the seven-time champion setting a lap 0.38secs faster than anyone else managed all weekend but failing to repeat it when it mattered; and Mercedes turning Red Bull’s performance advantage so far this year on its head.

It was hard to work out at the end of it all what was the most surprising aspect of the afternoon, but perhaps the most striking was Red Bull’s sudden lack of pace.

Mercedes back on top

Notwithstanding Lewis Hamilton’s pole position at the last race at Imola, there is no question that the Red Bull was the fastest car over one lap at the first two races of the season. That has not been the case at Portimao.

Hamilton set the fastest lap of the weekend, a one minute 17.968 seconds in the second part of qualifying, when he was 0.5secs clear of the field.

He never got close to that in the final part of qualifying – and nor did anyone else. It’s true that Verstappen set the fastest time in Q3, a 1:18.209, but he had that ruled out for a track limits transgression. And his next lap was only an 18.746, which was a good 0.4secs from Bottas’ pole.

The world champions have their first car upgrade of the season in Portugal. But even so Hamilton admitted this level of performance from Mercedes was “not expected”, and Bottas said that after struggling in qualifying in the first two races of the season, his pace “definitely put a smile on my face”.

It would be wrong, though, to draw any definitive conclusions from this, because it has been a funny sort of weekend, with a gusting wind causing conditions to change frequently on a track with very low grip and tyres that Hamilton said were too hard for it. Very few drivers felt they had optimised their performances.

Certainly, Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff was not taking anything for granted – even if he did acknowledge that his team had made significant progress.

“I’m not sure we had the fastest car but we made a big step forward,” Wolff said.

“We had an 18.2 from Max deleted because of track limits. On the other side, Valtteri had a very good first lap in Q3. So I would say we caught up a lot in qually. Maybe [we were] on par. We think we have a good racing car.

“What was the turnaround? Just crunching numbers, running in the simulator, trying to understand where the deficits lie, just chipping away and dissecting all the gaps. Contrary to what the belief is, there is never one silver bullet.”

Be that as it may, from Red Bull’s point of view this must be a slightly concerning development.

Mercedes were clearly out of sorts in pre-season testing, and struggling with their car’s handling both there and at the first race. But still Hamilton leads the championship after two races, and now Mercedes have their first front-row lock out of the season.

It was not this that informed Verstappen’s unhappiness through the weekend in Portugal, though – that was focused on the lack of grip from the track.

“I didn’t enjoy one single lap this weekend, just because of the state of the track,” the Dutchman said. “The layout is amazing but the grip we are experiencing, I don’t think it’s nice. I know it’s the same for everyone, but for me personally, it’s not enjoyable to drive.”

In the context of Mercedes’ step forward in qualifying performance, the obvious question is whether this will carry forward into the race.

Hamilton and Verstappen have been so closely matched over the first two races that it is impossible to say which team has had the quickest race car. Will that remain the case on Sunday?

“We’ll try to fight them in the race, see what we can do,” Verstappen said. “It’s not so easy to follow here but if we have good pace then for sure we’ll put the pressure on.”

It’s only three races into a theoretically 23-race season, but there is a lot at stake on Sunday. Particularly for Bottas.

The Finn needed this pole. After a weak performance in Imola, culminating in a crash with George Russell’s Williams, he is already 28 points – more than a win – behind Hamilton in the championship, and his hopes of challenging for the title are in danger of being over before they started.

If he does not beat Hamilton on Sunday, they pretty much will be.

Alpine on top

The good news story of the weekend was the performance of Alpine, the former Renault team, who had endured a difficult start to the season.

Problems at their factory over the winter affected their aerodynamic development, and the car has been towards the back of the midfield in the first two races.

But new parts introduced over the past two weekends, and some number crunching, led to a big step forwards in Portugal, and Esteban Ocon starts a very promising sixth on the grid.

Both he and team-mate Fernando Alonso have looked competitive all weekend – and closely matched. Until qualifying, that is, when the two-time champion’s pace fell away, and he ended up down in 13th, nearly a second off the Frenchman and failing to progress beyond the second part of the session.

Alonso was seeing the positives, though. Being outside the top 10 gives him a free tyre choice for the start of the race. That means he can choose the mediums, the favoured race tyre, which of the top cars only the Mercedes and Red Bulls and Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari were quick enough to progress through Q2 on.

“From P3 to Q1 we lost quite a lot of the feeling of the car and the performance of the car,” Alonso said. “That was a bad thing. We are still investigating what could be the reasons to lose one second on the pace.

“But nothing we can do now, and I’m still quite happy with everything this weekend. The car feels much better, much more alive and very competitive in all the sessions, so it was a very big step forward for us.

“Maybe we are not in the position we should be but at the same time we have the free choice of tyre and that may be better for the race in a way as a team to have two possibilities with the two drivers. It was a very, very positive weekend.”

Alonso was not the only one to be struggling suddenly in qualifying – Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren and Lance Stroll at Aston Martin were both knocked out in the first session, while team-mates Lando Norris and Sebastian Vettel made it into the top 10.

Like Alonso, they were somewhat mystified by the sudden lack of pace.

Katie Taylor produced a gutsy late rally to edge a stunning fight with Natasha Jonas and defend her world titles at Manchester Arena.

The Irish fighter started quickly but her four lightweight belts were at risk as Jonas began to land hard shots as the fight progressed.

Jonas showed greater power but Taylor’s speed and punch volume were key down the stretch as she won late rounds.

The 96-94 96-95 96-95 scores gave her a unanimous win but she was truly pushed.

“I’m just absolutely delighted with the win,” IBF, WBA, WBO and WBC world lightweight champion Taylor told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“I had to dig deep near the end and leave it all in there tonight. I think I showed the heart of a champion tonight.”

BBC Radio 5 Live boxing analyst Steve Bunce said the pair served up “some greatness” in a bout of such “quality”.

While Taylor faced difficulties against the wild and erratic Delfine Persoon, here she came up against a schooled fighter who sought to methodically break her down.

Jonas – beaten by Taylor when they last fought as amateurs at the London 2012 Olympics – likely knew her rival would be too quick for her early on and so it proved.

Taylor built an advantage with rapid shots but when her early energy waned, Jonas landed heavy, bruising blows.

“She don’t like it to the body, Natasha… she don’t like it downstairs,” Jonas was told by her corner during the third and she duly went to work.

In the sixth the speed versus power clash played out, Taylor unloading flurries, Jonas drilling home a hard left hand which briefly jolted her rival in a captivating two-minute round.

Many in boxing have questioned why female fighters box 10 two-minute rounds – compared to 12 three-minute segments in the men’s game.

This contest – like several other women’s fights in recent months – again showed how intense and gripping the action can be under such a structure.

Trainer Joe Gallagher told Jonas Taylor was open for “rich pickings” after a seventh round during which both fighters served up full-blooded attacks.

In the eighth, a left to the body and solid uppercut from Jonas hinted she might hand Taylor a first defeat and secure her first world titles.

But 34-year-old Taylor has proven her heart before and did so again over the final four minutes – her punch count and ferocity unrelenting when it mattered most.

“I feel I belong at this level and I want to win belts and be a champion,” said 36-year-old Jonas. “There were rounds I thought I had hurt her, but it’s all learning.”

Taylor has won Olympic gold, claimed world titles at two weights as a professional and in this – her 18th win in 18 outings – she showed her hunger for glory can stand testing times.

The pair hugged at the bell. Fans may want to see them do it again and Jonas’ display more than merits another crack at a world title.

Taylor though is a relentless force and wins like this only serve to add to her already iconic status.

‘We’ve seen some greatness’

 Mike Costello: “How about a rematch with a crowd? Who wouldn’t want to see that again?

“Everyone in the section in front of us is on their feet saluting a tremendous contest, an advertisement for women’s boxing and it was so, so close for so much of that contest.”

Steve Bunce: “Imagine that in front of 20,000 people – when we do our end of year show we might be talking about that 10th round, the last, as the round of the year.

“We’ve seen some greatness here tonight – we’ve seen some brilliant women’s fights but nothing we’ve seen in a British ring has had that much quality for that long, 20 minutes of 10 rounds of two minutes and not a moment you couldn’t watch and learn from.”

Valtteri Bottas took pole position for the Portuguese Grand Prix with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton completing a Mercedes front-row lockout in qualifying on Saturday.

Hamilton’s pursuit of a 100th pole at the track where last year he notched up his record 92nd win was delayed when Bottas earned the 17th of his career.

“It’s a good feeling to be on pole,” said Bottas after a final qualifying session lap of 1min 18.348sec.

He added: “Feels like it’s been a while. It’s been a weak point for me in the first two races. The team have been working hard all weekend and we have a good position for tomorrow.”

Bottas’ performance was well-timed after he had qualified third in the season-opener in Bahrain but then a lowly eighth at Emilia-Romagna.

His time was just 0.007sec faster than Hamilton.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, one point off Hamilton in the drivers’ standings, took third on Sunday’s grid with his teammate Sergio Perez alongside him on the second row in Portimao.

Verstappen had in fact bettered Bottas’ time but had his 1min 18.209sec run scrubbed out after exceeding track limits.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz came in fifth ahead of the Alpine of Esteban Ocon, Lando Norris, in a McLaren, and Charles Leclerc in the second Ferrari.

Hamilton paid tribute to Bottas “and our team for us both to be on the front row”.

“It was not expected. We have to be happy for that, it was not the perfect lap but I gave it everything.

“You can never be satisfied, we exist to keep moving forward but I’m happy with what we’re doing and the steps we’re taking.”

Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff admitted his world champion team is making steady qualifying improvements.

“I’m not sure we had the fastest car but we have improved a lot,” he said.

“We are catching up (Red Bull) in qualifying, we are maybe at the same level, and I think we have a good car for racing.”

• Red Bull ‘not too far off’ –
  Hamilton narrowly leads the 2021 championship after he won the opener in Bahrain before Dutch rival Verstappen hit back at Imola.

“Third is of course not what we wanted but it’s not too bad after I had a Q3 lap time deleted, which would actually have put us fastest,” said Verstappen.

“We struggled with the balance in Q1 and Q2 because of the track surface, and everyone is chasing grip, but we got to a decent level in Q3 so I don’t think we are too far off.”

Bottas’ last outing at Imola was one to forget as he and Williams driver George Russell collided at 300km/h.

Both cars were wrecked that day and Russell was furious with the Finn before the pair continued their clash off the track with a bitter war of words.

Russell will start on the sixth row on Sunday with Pierre Gasly, in an AlphaTauri, and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, in an Aston Martin, ahead of him.

“It’s our best qualifying position in three years so I’m really proud,” said Russell.

“We all have our responsibilities, and as a team we did a really good job.

“Tomorrow we’ve got to keep moving forward. We have a good race car –- it’s fast on the straights, so let’s see what we can do.”

The Haas pair of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin start at the back.

Burak Yilmaz again starred as Lille stayed on course to win the Ligue 1 title by beating 10-man Nice 2-0 on Saturday, a result that keeps the northern side a point clear of defending champions Paris Saint-Germain at the top of the table with three games left.

Yilmaz and fellow Turkish international Zeki Celik scored the goals for Lille against a Nice team who played most of the second half a man short after defender Jordan Lotomba was sent off.

Veteran striker Yilmaz, 35, had been the inspiration with a brace as Lille came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at Lyon last weekend and he was also the catalyst here as Christophe Galtier’s side responded perfectly after PSG had beaten Lens 2-1 earlier to move provisionally to the summit.

Yilmaz scored with a pinpoint low strike into the far corner from 20 metres following a Jonathan David lay-off on 13 minutes, and he also struck the post in the second half.

After Lotomba was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Jonathan Bamba at the start of the second half, Celik volleyed in Lille’s second goal in the 56th minute as he latched onto a clearance and volleyed in from just outside the box.

If Lille win their final three games against Lens, Saint-Etienne and Angers, they will be champions for the first time since 2011.

“Three points, a clean sheet, it’s good,” captain Jose Fonte told broadcaster Canal+.

“It was important to win at home because we hadn’t won here for a while, and the battles goes on. We have three difficult games left and we just need to keep fighting.”

PSG are lying in wait for a slip up, while third-placed Monaco — the best team in Ligue 1 in 2021 — will move back to within two points of top spot if they can beat Lyon on Sunday.

Neymar scored one goal and set up the other for Marquinhos as PSG edged Lens at home to claim a vital three points in between the two legs of their Champions League semi-final against Manchester City.