BRISTOL, Tenn. – Kurt Busch was going to do whatever it took on Sunday to try and secure his seventh Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory at Bristol Motor Speedway.

That included wrecking his younger brother Kyle Busch for the win, if it had come down to that.

While the elder Busch brother never ultimately got close enough to his younger sibling’s back bumper to take that shot, he still came home with a season-best second-place finish off a late pit strategy call.

Both Busch brothers stayed out when the race’s final yellow flag waved with 22 to go, after Kyle Larson got into the outside wall in turn three, placing them on the front row for a restart with 14 laps left.

That was as close as Kurt Busch got, as he watched Kyle drive off to his eighth-career Bristol win.

“It was tough battling our No. 1 Chevy, but this Monster Energy team is doing a good job,” said Kurt Busch after the race. “That one was tough, though. I really wanted to beat him. I flat out would have wrecked him (laughter). I wanted to stay close enough so that when we took the white, I was just going to drive straight into (turns) three and four.

“I mean, he’s already won. I figured he could give a little love to his brother, but no,” he added. “I wanted that one bad. I feel like him right now; I’m mad because I didn’t win.”

The weekend started out rough for Kurt Busch, who qualified 27th and had to fight his way forward all day on Sunday. He did that, however, just like in Texas a week ago – when he went from 30th to ninth.

“This car, we’re struggling on qualifying and we struggle on taking off,” the 40-year-old noted. “I just can’t get the right rear to grip until it gets heat in it, and it’s hard to be patient when you’re running for the win on old tires.”

The good for the elder Busch? He’s now finished inside the top 10 in six of the last seven Cup Series races and propelled himself from 24th to eighth in the series standings since the Daytona 500.

That has him believing that a victory is close, and coming soon.

“I’m happy that we were in position to do it, this group of guys. We’re not quite ready to win yet, but that was close,” said Kurt Busch. “I was going to wreck my little brother to win today, but with three laps to go, the car just stepped out in turn one and I wasn’t close enough to him after that.

“For our Monster Chevy, today is a really good run. We’ve got a lot of puzzle pieces, [and] we’re putting them together,” he noted. “This is my favorite track. We almost won, but we know we’re still wanting some good.

“Our No. 1 Monster Chevy is fast. We’ve just got to fine-tune it all.”

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BRISTOL, Tenn. – On a weekend where FOX Sports analyst and NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip sung Kyle Busch’s praises, the 33-year-old answered the call with a stirring victory in Sunday’s Food City 500.

After receiving significant rear-bumper damage in a lap-two accident on the backstretch, Busch charged through the field and eventually used late pit strategy to take command of the race in its final laps.

The 2015 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion didn’t even get to the lead for the first time until lap 384 of 500 on Sunday, but it was crew chief Adam Stevens’ call to stay out under the race’s final caution – which waved with 22 to go when Kyle Larson smacked the turn-three wall – that paid off.

Busch inherited the top spot over older brother Kurt when the leading Team Penske duo of Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski came down pit road for fresh tires, then ran away over a 14-lap dash to the checkered flag.

Kyle Busch ultimately crossed the finish line first by .722 of a second over Kurt Busch in the end.

“We’re crazy,” said the younger Busch in victory lane of himself and his brother. “We just do what we do to try to win. It’s pretty awesome to be able to snooker those guys and get our win here today at Bristol. I love this place, and it was fun to battle my brother there at the end. I know we didn’t quite get side-by-side racing it out, but I saw him working the top and I knew I had better go. Once I got up there, I was able to make some ground.

“This Skittles Camry wasn’t the best today, but we made the most of not having the best and got everything we needed here at the end.”

Kyle Busch’s win on Sunday marked his third of the season in eight Cup Series races, as well as the 54th of his career, tying him with Lee Petty for 10th on the all-time win list.

It was also his eighth triumph at Bristol, moving him one notch closer to Waltrip’s track-record mark of 12 wins at the high-banked, concrete half mile.

“This ain’t a dozen, that’s for sure. I’ve got more to go (to catch Darrell), but we’re getting there and it’s been fun,” noted Kyle Busch, who led three times for 71 laps. “It’s the most (wins at Bristol) for an active driver – I think I’ve heard that – but there’s a lot more years yet hopefully for us to add to that mark.”

Sunday also made Kyle Busch the first Cup Series driver to start a season with eight-straight top-10 finishes since Terry Labonte in 1992.

Kurt Busch came home as the runner-up after starting 27th, marking his best finish of the season with Chip Ganassi Racing, but it was clear he wanted more in the final laps – and he admitted afterward he’d have done anything to get out in front.

“This one is tough. I really wanted to beat him,” said Kurt Busch. “I was going to wreck him. I wanted to stay close enough (to him) so that when we took the exit (of the corner), I was going to drive straight into (turns) three and four. He had already won. I figured he could give a little love to his brother.

“I wanted that one bad. I feel like him right now; I’m all mad because I didn’t win,” he continued. “I’m happy that we were in position to do it, though. This group of guys … we’re not quite ready to win yet, but that was close. I was going to wreck my little brother to win today. With three laps to go, my car just stepped out in turn one, and I wasn’t close enough to him to do anything more after that.”

Logano came back to third on his fresh tires after pitting from the lead, but lamented losing the race on strategy like he and his team did.

“I was hoping we had more laps left,” said Logano. “I think we had the fastest car; we just didn’t get all the pieces right. When you have the fastest car, but don’t do the rest of the stuff (right), you don’t win. The 18 capitalized on that, so congrats to them.

“I feel like we won the race a couple times, but we just didn’t win it when it mattered the most.”

Ryan Blaney crossed the line fourth and Denny Hamlin finished fifth.

Paul Menard, Clint Bowyer, Daniel Suarez, Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson completed the top 10.

Ty Dillon shocked the field with a similar pit call to win the first stage over Bowyer, while Logano topped the second stage on Sunday.

To view complete race results, advance to the next page.

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THOMPSON, Conn. – Reigning PASS North super late model champion D.J. Shaw out-dueled fellow Granite State racer Derek Griffith to win Sunday’s 75-lap feature at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.

Shaw, seeking a third series title this year in the Precision JLM/Dale Shaw Race Cars No. 60, used the outside groove to reclaim the lead from Griffith, the defending PASS National Championship Series kingpin.  It was a reversal of fortunes for the top two finishers, as Griffith bested Shaw in last year’s opener at Thompson.

Shaw started ninth on the starting grid while third-starting Griffith quickly moved into contention, chasing early race leader Gabe Brown. Multi-time PASS North and National champion Ben Rowe was an early factor up front, as was six-time PASS North champ Johnny Clark.

Griffith and Shaw looked like they were going to settle the race amongst themselves, but 11th starter Ray Christian III had other ideas, and drove into contention while making good use of restarts to move as high as second in the running order late in the event.

Shaw beat Griffith to the checkered flag by just more than half a second after racing several laps side-by-side. Christian claimed the final podium finishing position ahead of Clark. Jake Johnson finished fifth.

The finish:

D.J. Shaw, Derek Griffith, Ray Christian III, Johnny Clark, Jake Johnson, Garrett Hall, Gabe Brown, Travis Benjamin, Nick Sweet, Devin O’Connell, Mike Hopkins, Cory Casagrande, Angelo Belsito, Ben Rowe, Reid Lanpher, Nick Johnson, Greg Nanigian, Kyle Casagrande, Jimmy Renfrew Jr., Dan Winter, Derek Ramstrom.

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ROUGEMONT, N.C. – Lee Pulliam earned the biggest payday in late model stock racing history Sunday afternoon with his victory in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour Old North State Nationals at Orange County Speedway.

Pulliam, who earned $30,000 for his triumph in the 200-lap event, spent most of the race pursing polesitter Taylor Gray and veteran Josh Berry. A caution with 49 laps left allowed Pulliam to close the gap at the front.

Trevor Ward ended up with the lead after the caution period after choosing not to pit. Berry, Timothy Peters and Pulliam all quickly dispatched Ward and began a battle for the race lead.

Another restart allowed Pulliam to dispatch both Berry and Peters, but a flat tire for Peters with 13 laps left created one more opportunity for those chasing Pulliam to track him down.

When the race resumed Pulliam and Berry began an intense battle that lasted for five laps, but it was Pulliam who emerged with the race lead. He proceeded to pull away to the $30,000 payday.

Gray, who won his first CARS Tour race recently at Hickory Motor Speedway, ended up second after leading many laps early in the race. Adam Lemke was third in a JR Motorsports entry, followed by Berry and Brandon Pierce.

The finish:

Lee Pulliam, Taylor Gray, Adam Lemke, Josh Berry, Brandon Pierce, Zack St. Onge, Trevor Ward, Mini Tyrrell, Bradley McCaskill, Tyler Matthews, Stacy Puryear, Camden Gullie, Bobby McCarty, Terry Dease, Myatt Snider, Timothy Peters, Corey Heim, Justin Carroll, Tommy Lemons Jr., Jacob Heafner, Craig Moore, Carson Kvapil, Deac McCaskill, Joshua Yeoman, Layne Riggs, Ty Gibbs, Mike Chambers, Terry Brooks Jr., Ronald Hill.

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BRISTOL, Tenn. – Though they combined to lead 344 of 500 laps on Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway, Team Penske’s three drivers all missed out on being able to celebrate in victory lane in the end.

The Food City 500 was shaping up to be a Penske-perfect party, with all three cars running inside the top four for much of the day, but a late caution and subsequent strategy call became the trio’s undoing.

Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski all pitted for fresh tires after Kyle Larson smacked the wall to bring out the final caution with 22 laps left. In fact, Logano and Keselowski were first and second at the time.

After they left pit road, confusion with the restart order left Keselowski hung in the middle of a three-wide mess coming to the green flag with 14 to go, leading to a black flag penalty for Keselowski for “failing to obey NASCAR directives from the control tower.”

Not only did Keselowski’s No. 2 Ford jumble up the running order when the race resumed, it allowed eventual winner Kyle Busch and eventual runner-up Kurt Busch to escape, while Blaney and Logano tried to get out of the hornet’s nest of cars they were stuck in and give chase.

Their efforts were all for naught, however, and none of the Roger Penske-owned Ford Mustangs ended up as the winner when the checkered flag waved.

Logano ended up third, robbed of victory in a race where he led prior to the final caution flag and left wondering what might have been afterward.

“Right at the end there I thought when we got by the (No.) 2 (of Keselowski) that it was the pass for the win,” said Logano, who took the lead with 31 to go. “I was pretty confident we were gonna be able to do that for 15 laps or so … and then the caution came out. What do you do? … You know a few of them are gonna stay out. By the time I got to third, those top two were so far ahead of me that I was stuck and was not going to get to them.

“It stinks when you have the fastest car and don’t win, but it’s a team sport and it takes every piece to make it work,” Logano added. “We had the car part figured out today; we just missed it on some other ends and just have to keep fighting hard. We got a stage win and led a lot of laps, but you want to win at Bristol so bad because it’s the coolest track.”

Blaney, who finished fourth, was hoping to put the sour taste of last spring’s Bristol race behind him. He led a race-high 158 laps and appeared to be one of the favorites before getting mired in traffic late.

“I need to get better as the track kind of rubbers out,” noted Blaney. “Joey is really good at it. I thought he had the best car, probably. The track rubbers in … and I just need to do something different there, but overall, this was not a bad day. We were up there all race and tried to keep up with the track.

“The track was really racy today from bottom to top,” he added. “I thought it put on a really good show, but man, you want to win these things when you get close like that.”

Then there was Keselowski, who ended up a lap down in 18th after having to make a pass down pit road during the final green-flag sprint to the finish.

Keselowski had little good to say after climbing from his car, both about the restart and the penalty.

“Nobody could figure out the lineup,” he explained. “There wasn’t enough communication. It was just a tough deal.”

That last sentence was an apt description to describe Team Penske’s entire end result at Bristol.

It was a tough deal, indeed.

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LEEDS, Ala. – Takuma Sato’s victory in Sunday’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama proved the old guard of the NTT IndyCar Series is still fast.

Just one race after Colton Herta became the youngest winner in Indy car history when he was six days shy of his 19th birthday, 42-year-old Sato started on the pole and drove a fantastic race to score the fourth win of his NTT IndyCar Series career.

Sato started on the pole and led 74 laps in the 90-lap contest. Although Sato was in front for most of the race, the intriguing strategy of a three-stop or two-stop race as well as when to use the primary and alternate tires created a great race.

There were a race record 11 lead changes, breaking the previous record of 10 set in 2015.

There were also many frantic, side-by-side battles throughout the field on the 2.3-mile, 17-turn Barber Motorsports Park.

Despite the physical racing, there was just one caution period for seven laps. That came when Graham Rahal’s car came to stop on the race course on lap 58. IndyCar officials allowed all the cars to pit under green before throwing the yellow flag, to keep from splitting the field as happens so often in past races with the closed pits rule.

Max Chilton was attempting to drive into pit lane but was blocked by Tony Kanaan’s car and got punted into the tire barrier.

Racing resumed on lap 65 with Sato in the lead. He was challenged by 38-year-old Scott Dixon, but went on to win by 2.3874 seconds. Forty-year-old Sebastien Bourdais finished third as Honda swept the top three positions.

With three of the four oldest drivers in the series on the podium, Dixon called it the “All Geriatric Podium.”

Sato isn’t letting age slow him down. Three of his four career IndyCar wins have come since 2017. He has now won one race in each of the last three seasons.

Mario Andretti was 53 years old when he won at Phoenix in 1993 and the Unsers were winners in their late 40s. Sato could be a bit of a throwback in that regard.

“It’s obviously nice to hear and encouraging me that it looks like I have 10 years left to race,” Sato said. “But in current formula, I don’t know.

“Obviously, it’s a very physical sport nowadays. Don’t get me wrong, even Mario, of course, it is. But the cars are very fast and putting 3.5 to the 4G’s and have to have an extensive program for the training. See how I go, see how I survive with age, and mentally I’m still a happy guy to race with, and if it — is it possible? I think that Bobby Rahal (team owner) will give me an opportunity. Let’s see how far we can go.”

Dixon finished second for the sixth time in his career. He has finished third or better in eight of the 10 Honda Indy Grands Prix of Alabama but has never won.

It was Dixon’s 42nd second-place finish of his 19-year career, moving him ahead of Helio Castroneves and alone behind only Mario Andretti’s 56 career runner-up finishes.

“We’ve got to be happy with that,” Dixon said. “It’s always tough competition. We come here to win, but second place (was) great for points. … Hopefully, we can try and get a win here one day.”

The win was the 27th for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in its 27th year as an Indy car team. Co-owners Bobby Rahal, the three-time Indy car champion and 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner, and David Letterman, the iconic late-night talk-show host, were on hand.

“I’m really pleased for Takuma, he drove beautifully,” Rahal said. “The team did a fabulous job, pit stops were great, strategy was great. But I honestly think Takuma was in a league of his own.”

Track officials announced a healthy three-day weekend attendance of 82,889.

About the only time Sato turned a wheel wrong came with five laps to go, when his No. 30 Mi-Jack/Panasonic Honda went wide in turn eight, going airborne briefly as it rattled through the grass. His car undamaged from the off-track excursion, Sato gathered himself and kept Dixon at bay to the checkered flag.

“Outside, (it) probably looked easy winning from the cruising and the pole position, but it wasn’t really cruising,” said Sato, the 2017 Indianapolis 500 winner. “So, I was really pushing hard using push-to-pass on everything the last 10 laps. So, it was tough, and I had a little moment into turn eight.

“Anyway, it was not necessary to give the little bit sort of heart attack to the body.

“It’s probably the cleanest race I ever won. … I think we come here with the hopes, always do, but honestly never really, really expected to be this much of a domination.”

For complete results, advance to the next page.

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LAS VEGAS – Mike Salinas picked up his first NHRA Top Fuel win Sunday at the 20th annual DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Salinas is the 107th different winner in Top Fuel history.

J.R. Todd (Funny Car), Bo Butner (Pro Stock) and Hector Arana Jr. (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were also victors in their respective professional Mello Yello Drag Racing Series categories.

Salinas started the race day from the No. 1 qualifying position. He powered his Scrappers Racing dragster to a victorious 3.801-second, 330.39 mph pass when he outran Brittany Force, Clay Millican and Doug Kalitta in the final round. Force finished as the Top Fuel runner-up.

“It means a lot,” Salinas said. “I have this program that I put in my head and I believed it would work. Alan Johnson (tuner) has been five years in the making. Didn’t say much, just let everything fall where it’s going to fall. We build something and now we can go racing.

“The important thing, for me, is that I have four daughters coming into the sport. I set the bar for my family all the time and now we have a good bar for them to reach and meet from the (Pro Stock) motorcycle, to the A-Fuel, to our Pro Mod coming, to everything we’re going to do. It’s going to be a great thing.”

The reigning Funny Car world champion Todd drove his DHL Toyota Camry to pick up the Funny Car title on Sunday with his 3.970-second pass at 319.07 mph. He has won three consecutive events at the Las Vegas track.

Todd faced a final four of Tommy Johnson Jr., Jack Beckman and No. 1 qualifier Tim Wilkerson, with Johnson coming in second.

“It’s all Kalitta Motorsports,” Todd said. “It seems like ever since I’ve come on board with this team, we’ve always run well here. This whole team, all four cars, have a really good handle on this place, especially Todd Smith and Jon (Oberhofer, crew chiefs). It seems like the more we come here the better grip they get ahold of this place.”

In Pro Stock, Butner picked up his third win of the season with his Jim Butner’s Auto Chevy Camaro team with his 6.677-second pass at 206.67 mph. The 2017 world champ got the final win light of the day with his triple holeshot victory over the quad of Matt Hartford, Jason Line and Greg Anderson. Hartford was second to the stripe and finished as the runner-up.

Butner’s Sunday win is his first four-wide win and his second win at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“I learned that you can’t be a lazy winner,” Butner stated. “The win light is off now and it’s time for the next race. We’ve got to work hard but I’m with the best team. I’m in the final with Greg and Jason, we’re like three brothers. It’s just great to get that with Ken (Black, team owner). It worked out to be a good day and just very blessed and can’t complain.”

Arana picked up the win on his Lucas Oil EBR amongst a quadrant of champions consisting of reigning champ Matt Smith, five-time champion Andrew Hines and four-time champion Eddie Krawiec. Smith came in second as Hines broke on the starting line and Krawiec fouled out with his red light start.

Arana cruised to a 6.907-second run at 195.97 mph to pick up his second win at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“That Lucas Oil motorcycle, she’s bad to the bone,” Arana said. “That’s just a testament to my team and the consistency. We weren’t the fastest but we were consistent all weekend. I worked on my lights and they got better and better and I stepped it up when I needed to step it up in the final because the final was stacked. I love going up against those guys. It makes me put out my best. It’s just something about racing those guys that you just dig deep and really go for it.”

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Paris Saint-Germain will have to wait for at least one more week to seal their eighth Ligue 1 title after a 2-2 draw at home to Strasbourg on Sunday.

Lille's 1-1 draw away at Reims earlier in the day had meant that a victory would confirm PSG as French champions for a second consecutive season, but striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting had other ideas.

Having put the hosts in front, the Cameroon international incredibly contrived to stop Christopher Nkunku's goal-bound effort at 1-1, and was unable to even turn to the ball into the net.

Strasbourg quickly went 2-1 up and Thomas Tuchel's men required a late headed equaliser from Thilo Kehrer to save a point - after the German coach had been dismissed for arguing with referee Thomas Leonard.

Choupo-Moting recognised his error post-match and explained his disappointment at failing to secure the title at the first attempt -- as well as his incredible miss.

"At first, I thought that Christopher might pass to me," he said. "He shot, though, and then I thought that the defender might get it.

"I hesitated to get the ball and asked if I was offside -- it all happened really fast. I touched the ball, it hit the post and it is a shame as I think that Christopher's was going in anyway. I am sorry for that, but we have to keep our heads up and keep going.

"It is a shame [to not be crowned champions at home] as we had enough chances. We want to win every game and the fans stuck behind us. It hurts, but we keep going -- football is like that."

Tuchel was at a loss to explain Choupo-Moting's latest howler after another away at Toulouse last week and simply chalked it up to "Murphy's law."

PSG now have the chance to seal the Ligue 1 title away at rivals Lille next weekend where they will clinch by avoiding defeat.

LONDON -- Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has said he does not want to sign a midfield alternative to Jorginho but would like to make Mateo Kovacic's loan from Real Madrid permanent.

Since the January sale of Cesc Fabregas, the coach said Kovacic is the only other player in his squad capable of filling in at the base of midfield.

"You know very well that, in that position, we have some problems because we have only Jorginho," Sarri, whose side face West Ham at home on Monday, told a news conference.

"In my opinion, Kovacic could become a very good central midfielder.

"Of course he is not a defensive midfielder but, as you know, in that position I prefer a very technical player. For us it's very important for us to have big quality in that position. Big quality not for the last pass, but big quality in terms of moving the ball."

Asked whether he would like to see Chelsea sign someone else to play the role, Sarri said: "No, I want to try with Kovacic. He is only on loan, of course. I'd like very much that Kovacic will stay with us."

Sarri praised former Chelsea academy player Declan Rice, who has starred at the base of West Ham's midfield and made his first England appearance last month.

"I think he's a very good player, very good in the defensive phase because he's very able to recover the ball," Sarri said.

"He usually plays very close to the defensive line and, in the first match against West Ham, he was really a very big problem for us."

Chelsea face three matches in six days, with games against West Ham and Liverpool either side of a trip to Slavia Prague in the Europa League quarterfinals, and Sarri said he felt the Premier League could have been more flexible with their scheduling of fixtures.

"I am not able to understand the decision of the Premier League because we have to go to Prague as an English team," he said. "So I'm not able to understand why we have to play on Monday. It's very strange.

"I think they could have done more for the English teams in Europe. In Serie A, teams play on Friday. Teams involved in the Europa League away from home, they can ask to play their next Serie A match on Monday.

"So we need to have very strong players. But the Premier League was able to sell in the best way possible the Premier League [TV rights], so in England we are lucky.

"We can buy the best players in the world, and so we have to accept we have to play every three days."

LONDON -- Kevin De Bruyne has rubbished any suggestions that Tottenham's new stadium gives them a better chance against Manchester City when they meet in the Champions League.

Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino claimed his side "can achieve more" in their new 62,000-seat home but De Bruyne said they would still be the same dangerous opponent, even if they were playing at Wembley.

"I don't care about the stadium, I care about the team we play," the Belgium midfielder told reporters.

"Everybody talks about the stadium like it's something special -- everybody has a stadium, everybody has supporters. They'll be up for it.

"I don't think there will be any difference. They'll probably be a little bit more excited but in the end it's a stadium with supporters. If they go to Wembley with 80,000 or there with 62,000, it's going to be the same. It'll be a tough game but I think we'll be all right."

City have the chance to reach the Champions League semifinals for just the second time in their history after going out at this stage last season, also to an English opponent in Liverpool.

Last year, Liverpool won the first leg 3-0 in front of a fervent home crowd but De Bruyne doesn't believe there will be any comparisons to Tuesday night's game.

"It's a different team, different year, different players," he added. "Last year we had a great season, We didn't make it beyond the quarterfinals and that's it.

"Cup games are different. If you're not at your best then it doesn't really matter, just try and see the game out. You can't play 70 games at your top level. I think we did really well."

Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola believes Spurs have a small advantage as his side have played twice since their opponents' last game, as City chase an unprecedented Quadruple.

"Of course," he said when asked if Tottenham have an advantage because of their extra time off. "But to fight for everything you have to have calmness.

"If they have six days, congratulations. Maybe one day we will have six days and our opponent will have two or three. It's the fixtures.

"If we will be out of that competition, we will have maybe more days. It's what it is, so that is the challenge."