Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - The Blues winger Caleb Clarke has been suspended for three weeks.

Clarke was red carded in the second half of the Blues win over Moana Pasifika on Saturday night at Eden Park after he mistimed an attempted charge down of a chip kick by Tomasi Alosio and made contact with his opponent's head.

All Blacks back Clarke faced a SANZAAR judicial hearing last night where he was found guilty of reckless or dangerous play.

Clarke will be sidelined for three weeks, up to and including April 23.

A ban of six weeks was considered the mid-range entry point for the offence.

But, mitigating factors, including the Clarke's good judicial record, the manner he held himself through the proceedings, the way he expressed remorse with multiple attempts to check on the injured player, and his young age, led the a reduction in his suspension.

Benzema puts Real in control against Chelsea

A hat-trick by veteran striker Karim Benzema earned Real Madrid an emphatic 3-1 win at reigning European champions Chelsea in their Champions League quarter-final first leg.

Benzema, 34, scored two headed goals in the space of three first-half minutes and then pounced on an error by Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy just after halftime to put the Spaniards in control of the tie before next week's second leg in Madrid.

Kai Havertz had restored some hope to the Blues when he headed in an angled pass from Jorginho in the 40th minute to make it 2-1.

But Chelsea's chances of a comeback were undone by Mendy's mistake in the 46th minute when, outside his box, he tried to pass to Antonio Rudiger only for Benzema to intercept and steer the ball into an empty net for his 37th goal of the season.

Meanwhile, an electrifying Villarreal beat six times winners Bayern Munich 1-0 in a frantic quarter-final first leg tie.

Forward Arnaut Danjuma's eighth minute strike gave Unai Emery's side a slender lead for the second leg at the Allianz Arena in Munich next week.

Villarreal took the game to Bayern and should probably have won by a larger margin given the number of chances created.

The Europa League holders suffocated Julian Nagelsmann's team when they tried to attack, while proving a constant menace to goalkeeper Manuel Neuer on the counter-attack.

- Reuters

Everton stumble deeper into trouble

Everton fell deeper into relegation trouble with Burnley's Maxwel Cornet striking an 85th minute winner as the home side fought back to beat Frank Lampard's team 3-2 at Turf Moor to move within a point of the Merseysiders.

The win is a major boost for 18th-placed Burnley who are on 24 points after their fourth league win of the season with Everton in 17th on 25 and both teams having played 29 games.

Burnley grabbed a 12th minute lead when Cornet's corner found Nathan Collins at the back post and the Clarets defender was allowed the space to side-foot past Jordan Pickford to score his first goal for the club.

But the hosts' lead lasted six minutes with Everton pulling level through a Richarlison penalty after Anthony Gordon went down in the box after tangling with Ashley Westwood.

It was another penalty which gave Everton the lead four minutes before the interval when their Ukrainian left back Vitaliy Mykolenko cut inside Aaron Lennon and went down.

Referee Mike Dean initially waved away the penalty appeals but was sent to the monitor by the VAR officials and having reviewed the evidence pointed to the spot. Richarlison again beat Nick Pope with a cool conversion.

Burnley continued to scrap, however, and left back Charlie Taylor created the 57th minute equaliser, skipping past Jonjoe Kenny and cutting into the area before drilling a low shot across the face of goal which was hammered in by Jay Rodriguez.

Cornet then grabbed the winner when Ben Godfrey's mis-hit clearance fell straight to Matej Vydra and he slipped the ball back to the Ivorian who fired home to delight the home crowd.

- Reuters

Mickleson made own decision on Masters

Augusta chairman Fred Ridley says Phil Mickelson was not stopped from playing this year's Masters because of his controversial comments surrounding the breakaway Saudi super league.

Three-time champion Mickelson is not playing for the first time in 28 years.

The 51-year-old American is taking a break from golf after apologising for his criticism of Saudi Arabia's regime.

"We did not disinvite Phil," said Ridley. "He made a personal decision and I don't know anything beyond that."

Ridley would not be drawn on whether any players who sign up to the super league - a lucrative Formula One-style tour funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which holds its first tournament near London in June - would be banned from future Masters.

The super league plan has provoked anger and led to six-time major champion Mickelson saying the PGA Tour was acting like a "dictatorship".

Mickelson branded the Saudi regime - which has been criticised for its human rights - as "scary" and said the super league project was a "once in a lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates".

In late February, Mickelson announced he would take a break from the game "to work on becoming the man I want to be" following the fallout from his comments.

- BBC

Optimism over Australian F1 GP track changes

Australian Grand Prix organisers will hope the days of single-lane racing at Albert Park are over as they unveil long-awaited changes to Melbourne's lakeside circuit this week.

Albert Park has hosted Formula One's Australian stop since the state government snatched it from Adelaide some 25 years ago, turning public roads and car parks into a race track for a few weeks every year.

Until this year, the circuit had stuck resolutely to the layout of the first race in 1996 despite the vast evolution of the cars.

Though one of the more visually pleasing tracks on the calendar, it drew criticism for lacking passing opportunities, gripes that only grew in volume as the cars sped up.

It has seen the bumpy street circuit resurfaced and shortened by 28 metres, with seven corners modified and two turns taken out altogether, bringing the total down to 14.

The changes have paved the way for four DRS zones, where drivers can adjust flaps on their rear wings to reduce drag and improve their chances of overtaking.

With COVID-19 scrapping the last two Australian races, organisers hope the circuit's upgrade will prove a hit with the drivers and a thrill for returning motor sport fans.

- Reuters

Maradona shirt may fetch more than $7 million

Auctioneer Sotherby's expects the shirt worn by Diego Maradona when he scored his infamous "Hand of God" goal against England at the 1986 World Cup to sell for at least 4 million pounds (NZ$7.5 million).

The shirt is owned by former England midfielder Steve Hodge, who swapped shirts with Maradona after Argentina won the match 2-1 thanks to two goals by the forward, the second a solo effort considered to be one of the greatest ever scored.

It was Hodge's attempted back pass that Maradona chased before using his hand to push the ball past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton for the first goal. Following Maradona's death in 2020, Hodge said the shirt was not for sale.

Brazilian great Pele's jersey from the 1970 World Cup final is the most expensive football shirt sold at auction, according to Guinness World Records.

It fetched 157,750 pounds in 2002, over three times the expected price.

Maradona, who led Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986, is widely considered one of the greatest ever footballers. He died at the age of 60 in 2020 due to a cardiac arrest.

- Reuters

Koeman to succeed Van Gaal as Netherlands coach after World Cup

Ronald Koeman is to return as Netherlands coach when Louis van Gaal leaves the role after the World Cup in Qatar.

Van Gaal, who has long made it clear he will leave after the global football showpiece later this year, said last week he was receiving treatment for an aggressive form of prostate cancer.

Koeman helped the Netherlands reach the Euro 2020 finals after they had missed the previous tournament and the 2018 World Cup, and also to the final of the Nations League, where they lost 1-0 to Portugal.

He left for what he described as his "dream job" at Barcelona in August 2020, but was sacked by the Catalan side in October last year.

"I'm looking forward to the new collaboration," Koeman told the KNVB website. "A little over a year and a half ago, I certainly did not leave the Dutch national team out of dissatisfaction.

"My stay felt good, the results were good, and the relationship with the players was good. We will soon continue on that path. That is certain for me."

- Reuters