Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - New Zealand golfer Lydia Ko has pulled clear at the top of the LPGA Classic leaderboard in Ohio.

Ko has birdied the final two holes of her second round to card a six-under par 65 and move to 13-under for the tournament.

She's a shot clear of England's Jodi Edwart Shadoff, with world number two Danielle Kang just a shot further back.

Lydia Ko has won this tournament twice before, but last had success on the LPGA Tour in April 2018.

The former world number one is now ranked 55th.

Singh to play in German second division

Bayern Munich's confirmed Sarpreet Singh is being loaned to second tier club FC Nürnberg for the upcoming German football season.

The All Whites playmaker made two first team appearances for Bayern last season, but predominantly played in the third division.

Singh scored seven goals and provided seven assists in 22 appearance for Bayern's second team.

He'll join FC Nürnberg immediately so won't play any part in the remainder of Bayern Munich's Champions League campaign.

Bayern will host Chelsea in the second leg of their round of 16 tie tomorrow (Sunday) morning, having won the first leg at Stamford Bridge 3-0.

Man City oust Real Madrid

Manchester City has reached the Champions League quarter-finals after beating Real Madrid 2-1 (4-2 on aggregate) at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, with scorers Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus taking advantage of dreadful errors by Raphael Varane.

Having beaten the 13-times European champions at home and away, City will now head to Lisbon for the 'final eight' tournament where they will face Olympique Lyonnais, who knocked out Juventus in today's other round of 16 tie.

Real, trailing 2-1 from the first-leg were without suspended skipper and defensive lynchpin Sergio Ramos and it showed, with the Spaniards looking shaky at the back throughout.

Pep Guardiola's City side were confident and focused and avoiding the kind of defensive lapses that have cost them in the knockout stage in previous campaigns.

Juventus beat Lyon 2-1 in the second leg of their round of 16 tie, but the French side has progressed on the away goals rule after winning the first leg 1-0.

- Reuters

A first for the Warriors in 2020

The Warriors have won back-to-back NRL games for the first time since May last year.

They've beaten the Manly Sea Eagles 26-22 in Sydney, a week after downing the Wests Tigers.

The Warriors jumped out to an early 16-0 lead in Manly, but had to dig deep to earn the two competition points after twice being reduced to 12 men.

Hooker Karl Lawton was sin-binned midway through the first-half, while prop Jack Hetherington was fortunate not to be sent off for a high tackle shortly after half-time.

Also in Sydney, the Rabbitohs have beaten the Brisbane Broncos 28-10.

Steel stun Mystics

The Northern Mystics have come crashing back down to earth in the ANZ Premiership.

The Mystics have been beaten 51-47 by the struggling Southern Steel in Invercargill, five days after handing the defending champion Central Pulse their first defeat of the season.

The result leaves the northerners two points behind the second-placed Mainland Tactix, who they play tomorrow (Sunday).

The top two sides will go straight through to the grand final.

The Southern Steel remain second-to-bottom in the six team competition.

More top players pull out of US Open

Women's world number five Elina Svitolina and Kiki Bertens, ranked seventh, have joined a growing list of players withdrawing from this month's U.S. Open due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Men's defending champion Rafa Nadal and women's world number one Ashleigh Barty have opted against travelling to New York to play the hardcourt Grand Slam as well as the Western & Southern Open that will work as a warmup for the U.S. Open.

"I understand and respect all the efforts they are putting to make it happen in a safe environment, but I still don't feel comfortable to travel to U.S. without putting my team and myself at high risk," Ukrainian Svitolina, who reached last year's semi-finals in New York, said on Twitter.

The United States has close to 5 million cases of COVID-19 and almost 160,000 people have died, according to a Reuters tally.

"The situation around COVID-19 is still worrying and the health of everyone and the control over this virus is priority," said the 28-year-old Bertens on Instagram.

- Reuters

English cricketers fight back in Manchester

England roared back into contention with the ball but Pakistan remained in the driving seat following an intriguing third day of the first test at Old Trafford in Manchester.

Pakistan closed the day on 137 for eight in their second innings, an overall lead of 244 on a wearing wicket where the tourists' spinners bowled England out for 219 earlier in a fast-moving contest.

Yasir Shah (12 not out) and Mohammad Abbas (0 not out) will look to build Pakistan's lead further on the fourth morning and take the game away from their hosts.

Only once before in 81 tests has more than 244 been successfully chased to win at Old Trafford, when England reached 294 for four to defeat New Zealand in 2008.

- Reuters

England cricket tour moved

England's limited overs tour of India that was scheduled for late September has been postponed to early 2021.

While the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) cited the prevailing COVID-19 conditions in India, the tour would also have clashed with the revised dates of the Indian Premier League that is scheduled for Sept. 19-Nov. 10 in the United Arab Emirates.

The IPL was due to be staged earlier in the year but was postponed due to COVID-19, taking up a slot vacated by the shift of the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia to next year.

The ECB is now in discussions for a tour that will include fixtures in all three formats from late January to late March next year.

"International cricket between India and England is a highlight of the cricketing calendar and we look forward to working with the BCCI to firm-up the schedules for these eagerly anticipated tours as soon as possible," ECB chief executive Tom Harrison said in a media release.

- Reuters

Dutch cyclist awakes from induced coma

Dutch cyclist Fabio Jakobsen, who was put in a medically-induced coma after crashing at the finish line in the Tour of Poland's first stage on Wednesday, is awake and in good condition.

Jakobsen, who rides for the Deceuninck-Quick Step team, was trying to jostle into position with competitor Dylan Groenewegen in the final metres of the race, but the pair collided and Jakobsen crashed into the barriers, hitting a race official.

The 23-year-old was taken to hospital and underwent facial surgery.

"We have good news from the hospital in Sosnowiec! @FabioJakobsen is awake now from the coma. Condition is 'good'," tour organisers said on Twitter.

The hospital in Sosnowiec, southern Poland, said that Jakobsen will have to go through a long rehabilitation process, but his condition is good and he does not show any neurological symptoms.

"The patient is conscious, follows orders, is disconnected from the ventilator, so he is breathing alone," the hospital's director told a news conference.

"I think that if he survived such a fall, he will return to sport for sure," he added.

- Reuters

Renault's protest upheld

Formula One stewards fined Racing Point 400,000 euros, stripped them of 15 points in the constructors' championship and issued a reprimand after upholding a Renault protest about the legality of their rival's car.

Renault had protested at the last three races, arguing that the brake ducts used by Racing Point were a copy of those used by Mercedes, their engine partner, in winning last year's championship.

The governing FIA said the stewards had upheld the complaints against Racing Point, whose competitive car has been dubbed the 'Pink Mercedes' because it looks so similar to the 2019 Mercedes.

Racing Point's drivers -- Canadian Lance Stroll and Mexican Sergio Perez -- will keep their points but the team will drop from fifth to sixth and behind Renault in the constructors' standings ahead of Sunday's 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.

Perez is absent from that race after testing positive for COVID-19, and will be replaced by German stand-in Nico Hulkenberg.

The team, owned by a consortium led by Stroll's father Lawrence, were weighing up whether to appeal.

- Reuters

Brumbies lose for the first time in Super Rugby AU

Wallabies back Reece Hodge scored two first-half tries as the Melbourne Rebels handed Super Rugby AU pacesetters the ACT Brumbies their first defeat of the campaign with a convincing 30-12 victory in Sydney.

Rebels skipper Matt Toomua pulled the strings from inside centre against his old team as flanker Brad Wilkin and hooker Jordan Uelese also crossed to give the exiled Melbourne club a 27-7 lead at halftime.

Seven weeks into a tour that looks set to last the whole season while their home city struggles to contain a second COVID-19 outbreak, the Rebels were unable to cross after the break but still extended their unbeaten run to four matches.

The Queensland Reds visit the New South Wales Waratahs in Sydney on Saturday in the other match in round six.

- Reuters

No fans for first women's golf major of 2020

Next month's ANA Inspiration, which is traditionally the LPGA's first major championship of the year, will be played without spectators because of the COVID-19 outbreak, the elite women's professional golf circuit has announced.

The Sept. 10-13 event at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California was originally slated to take place in April but was postponed because of the virus that halted professional sports across the globe.

"The champion's walk at 18 and the jump into Poppie's Pond are two of the greatest traditions on the LPGA Tour," LPGA Tour Commissioner Mike Whan said in a news release.

"While we wish we could have fans with us in person to celebrate these exciting moments, ensuring the health and safety of everyone inside and outside the ropes is of the utmost importance."

Four of the LPGA's five majors remain on the schedule this year, including the Aug. 20-23 Women's British Open which will also be held without spectators at Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland.

The Oct. 8-11 Women's PGA Championship in Pennsylvania and Dec. 10-13 U.S. Women's Open in Texas have not yet announced whether spectators will be allowed to attend.

- Reuters

Salary cap for lower league English football

League One and League Two clubs, representing the third and fourth tiers of English football, have voted in favour of introducing salary caps for their squads.

League One clubs agreed to cap total expenditure on player salaries at 2.5 million pounds ($3.27 million) while those in League Two agreed to an upper limit of 1.5 million pounds.

"The term 'salary cap' is an emotive one, creating the impression of a restrictive measure but we are clear in our view that this is neither the objective nor the likely effect of these changes to EFL Regulations," EFL CEO David Baldwin said.

The move was criticised by the players' union (PFA), which said it had served the EFL with a notice of arbitration and called for the new rules not to come into effect until that process was completed.

"We are disappointed at the outcome of today's votes," the PFA added in a statement. "The EFL has ignored its legal obligation to consult with the PFA and the PFNCC (Professional Football Negotiating and Consultative Committee).

- Reuters

New Bundesliga season confirmed

The Bundesliga season kicks off on Sept. 18 with champions Bayern Munich taking on Schalke 04 and will only have an 11-day winter break as the German Football League (DFL) adapts the schedule amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The DFL has announced Bayern would face Schalke in the season opener but should the Bavarians reach the Aug. 23 Champions League final they would be given a few extra days to rest. Borussia Dortmund launch their season against Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Clubs will have a shorter than usual winter break with the season stopping on Dec. 21 and resuming on Jan 2 to fit in national team obligations and matchdays for European competitions. Bundesliga winter breaks in the past were as long as six weeks sometimes.

The last season was interrupted for two months by the pandemic before resuming in May and finishing in late June.

The German Supercup between double winners Bayern and league runners-up Dortmund will be played on Sept. 30.

The DFL is working on a concept to allow a limited number of fans in the stadium when the season restarts. The German government has banned spectators from all major events until Oct. 31.

- Reuters

Western United close in on A-League finals

Western United's taken a big step towards securing a place in the A-League playoffs in its maiden season.

Mark Rudan's side has beaten Western Sydney Wanderers 5-3 to move on to the verge of the top six.

Western United's now just two points behind Adelaide United and have two games in hand.

The result ends Western Sydney's finals hopes.

Former All Whites defender Andrew Durante was forced off the field in a hip injury, but is expected to return for Western United's next match against the Perth Glory on Wednesday.