Neymar and Lionel Messi were on target as Barcelona produced a sensational first-half performance to take a huge step towards the La Liga title with a 2-0 win at local rivals Espanyol on Saturday.

The visitors dominated from the off and two goals in eight minutes sealed the win as Neymar and Messi rounded off excellent team moves.

The Golden State Warriors became the first team to punch their ticket to the second round of the NBA playoffs on Saturday with a 109-98 victory over New Orleans.

The Warriors, with Stephen Curry again leading the way, completed a four-game sweep of the Pelicans in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series.

Mick Schumacher Jnr lived up to the famous name on his Formula Four debut by claiming a trophy as the best rookie after finishing ninth despite starting 19th on Saturday.

The 16-year-old son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher celebrated by spraying a bottle of champagne he is still too young to drink after winning the trophy.

French prosecutors said Saturday they had opened a preliminary probe into a lobby group's claims that construction giant Vinci is using forced labor on building projects for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The investigation, which began about a fortnight ago, aims to verify allegations -- denied by the French construction group -- that have been made by the non-governmental group Sherpa, prosecutor Catherine Denis told Agence France Presse.

Canadian teenager Brooke Henderson shot a tournament-record seven-under 65 to grab a two-shot lead after the second round of the LPGA Tour's Swinging Skirts tournament on Friday.

The 17-year-old Henderson finished 36 holes at nine-under 135 at the Lake Merced Golf Course.

The draw for the semi-finals of the Europa League on Friday kept alive the possibility of an all-Italian final as Serie A sides Napoli and Fiorentina avoided each other.

Rafa Benitez's Napoli will take on Dnipro of Ukraine while Fiorentina will face holders Sevilla in the semi-finals, with the first legs to be played on Thursday, May 7 and the second legs on Thursday, May 14.

Ghana begin Sunday a potentially long, difficult journey they hope will end at the 2016 Olympic Games football tournament in Brazil.

First up for the Black Meteors are Liberia in the initial of three qualifying rounds for a December tournament that will determined which three African countries go to South America.

Japan will host the Club World Cup for the next two years, world football's governing body FIFA announced on Thursday.

After last staging the event in 2012, Japan will play host again in 2015 and 2016, with this year's competition confirmed for December 10-20.

A top official has denied Singapore's S-League could be scrapped and said it was not true that even national coach Bernd Stange stays away from the poorly attended football competition.

S-League chief executive Lim Chin played down reports of a bust-up between club chairmen and Football Association of Singapore officials at a meeting this week, calling the exchanges "robust debate".

AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi is preparing to weigh up two separate offers for the club that could see a majority stake in the Italian Serie A giants sold to either a Thai or Hong Kong businessman, reports said Thursday.

Speculation surrounding the eventual sale of the seven-time European champions has intensified in the past year amid the club's struggle to keep up with the pace in Serie A, and their recurring failure to qualify for Europe.