• Andy Farrell installs Itoje as captain for Australia tour
• Henry Pollock backed to star, Leinster provide 12 players

Andy Farrell has left the door open for his son Owen to join the ­British & Irish Lions tour of ­Australia and called on Henry Pollock to showcase his “cocky” streak after Northampton’s rising star was the standout ­selection in his squad.

Farrell Jr was among the headline omissions from the 38-man group that will be captained by Maro Itoje, with Finn Russell, Fin Smith and ­Marcus Smith preferred as the fly-half options. ­Pollock’s selection caps a stunning rise for the 20-year-old who made his Test debut against Wales in March as part of a remarkable breakthrough season with Northampton. Marcus Smith benefits from his ability to play full-back despite falling down the England pecking order.

It was a night when Arsenal gave everything, battling until the last, even when it looked over. Nobody should fault the spirit of Mikel Arteta’s players. They emerged with honour. But it was a night when they simply could not bend this showpiece occasion to the force of their energy and will.

When it really was over, this raucous venue pounded to a delirious beat. Paris Saint-Germain are going to their second Champions League final, deserved winners across the two legs. They will fancy their chances of a first title when they face Inter Milan in Munich.

• British player holds on for 7-5, 6-7 (1), 6-3 win
• Lucky loser Cameron Norrie into second round

At the end of a turbulent night in Rome, where another momentum shift was always around the corner, Emma Raducanu held off a spirited teenage opponent and quelled her own nerves to reach the second round of the Italian Open with a gritty 7-5, 6-7 (1), 6-3 win over Australia’s Maya Joint.

The victory marks Raducanu’s first win in Rome in just her second appearance at the event. In 2022, she was forced to retire in the first round against Bianca Andreescu. She will next face a familiar opponent in Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 21st seed, who she has already battled twice this year, winning once, in Australia.

• Itoje to be first English Lions captain in 24 years
• 40-strong squad to be announced at O2 on Thursday

Maro Itoje will be named captain of the British & Irish Lions squad to tour Australia on Thursday, the Guardian understands. Itoje is set to become the first Englishman to lead the Lions in 24 years when he is unveiled as part of Andy Farrell’s squad announcement at a live event at the O2.

Itoje, also the England captain, became overwhelming favourite for the role when it emerged Caelan Doris had suffered a shoulder injury last weekend that required surgery. The Ireland captain is now a doubt for the tour, clearing the way for Itoje to be selected as captain and lead what is understood to be a 40-strong squad.

Tottenham are without key players for the Europa League semi-final second leg against opponents who have belief

European football has provided Tottenham with a sanctuary during this most confusing of seasons. Their Premier League campaign has been a disaster but they have turned into a different team against continental opposition. They have veered away from the wilder excesses of Angeball during their run to the Europa League semi-finals – their quarter-final win over Eintracht Frankfurt was achieved with a crafty, gritty performance in the second leg – and silverware will be within reach for the first time since 2008 if they can hold their nerve at the Aspmyra Stadium.

Freeze in the Arctic Circle, though, and the ice that Ange Postecoglou has been skating on since January will finally crack. This is the moment to move away from the modern Tottenham’s history to sort of dare, not quite do and fall short when the pressure rises. Postecoglou has railed against the club’s reputation as loveable losers but defeat against Bodø/Glimt could see him out of a job by Friday morning. He must ensure his players are equipped for the unorthodox test posed by Kjetil Knutsen’s team. Injuries have been the theme of Spurs’ season but they have to overcome the blow of two more befalling their two most in-form midfielders, Lucas Bergvall and James Maddison, just when they were needed most.

• Decision comes after three poor red-ball series
• First of five Tests start in June at Headingley

Rohit Sharma has retired from Test cricket, his announcement coming hours after reports emerged that he was to lose India’s red-ball captaincy. The 38-year-old, who quit T20 international cricket after leading India to victory at last year’s World Cup, will continue to represent his country in one-day internationals.

“Hello everyone, I would just like to share that I am retiring from Test cricket,” Sharma posted on Instagram. “It’s been an absolute honour to represent my country in whites. Thank you for all the love and support over the years. I will continue to represent India in the ODI format.”

Fittingly, after three-and-a-half hours, the 13 goals and the three invasions from the substitutes’ bench, the heavens opened: a downpour that also felt like a kind of baptism. Inter and Barcelona had drained themselves many times over, and discovered every time that they still had more to give. We were in a place beyond plans and maps, beyond shapes and tactics, beyond sanity.

And so ended what turned out to be less a Champions League semi-final and more of an elongated scream, the sort of game that emerges when both sides give up on perfection and in so doing somehow manage to produce it.

• Briatore to return 17 years after Crashgate scandal
• Driver Doohan expected to be replaced by Colapinto

The Alpine team principal, Oliver Oakes, has resigned from the team with Flavio Briatore, the Italian who was once given a lifetime ban from Formula One, set to step up to assume team principal duties.

Oakes was appointed only nine months ago and the 37-year-old’s resignation, which a statement from Alpine read they had accepted with “immediate effect”, comes with the team expected to replace their driver Jack Doohan with Franco Colapinto before the next round at Imola.

• Pundit said Arsenal have ‘psychological fear’ of trophies
• Thomas Partey to play in deeper midfield role in Paris

Declan Rice has rejected Wayne Rooney’s claim that Arsenal have a “psychological fear” of winning trophies and insisted they are capable of overturning a one-goal deficit against Paris Saint-Germain to reach the Champions League final.

Mikel Arteta’s side were criticised by the former England forward after losing the first leg 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium last week after an early goal from Ousmane Dembélé, with Rooney stating in his role as a pundit for Amazon that Arsenal are “used to getting to a certain stage of the season and things fall away”. But having already beaten PSV Eindhoven and Real Madrid away in the knockout stages this season, Rice was adamant that they have the belief to get past PSG after their comfortable 2-0 victory against Luis Enrique’s side in the group stage back in October.

The British tennis star is seeking stability with familiar faces after her world was transformed by US Open success

“I am very independent and I think now I’m actually just listening to myself and my intuition more,” says Emma Raducanu, smiling, from one of the few quiet corners of the vast, handsome Foro Italico complex in Rome. “For so long, I’ve had other opinions, I’ve tried to justify my gut feeling because my brain is very logical [and] I didn’t feel like I could just trust what I felt.”

Raducanu is speaking before her first-round appearance at the Italian Open, where she is still trying to figure out how to adapt her game to clay. Looking at the bigger picture of the 22-year-old’s career and life, she has reached an interesting inflection point.