arsenal could also mathematically catch third placed manchester city but that is a more complicated equation. 71 last year, we were second, at the moment we have 72 and we want of course to go to 75, to focus on that after. we have to deal with what happens, but we want to give everything to get to 75. at the etihad stadium, pep guardiola's team moved up to third in the premier league with a 3—1win over west brom. goals came from gabrieljesus, kevin de bruyne and yaya toure. but the victory was tinged with sadness, as the blues said goodbye to argentinian defender pablo zabaletta in his final home game after nine years‘ service. he wore the captain's armband for the end of the match after vincent kompany went off. so, chelsea and tottenham have taken the top two champions league places already. the fight is on for the third automatic spot and the fourth qualifying place. manchester city are on 75 points, two ahead of liverpool on 73, and arsenal are on 72. three points are up for grabs for all three sides on the final weekend. then goal difference could come into force. it's not been a great day for maria sharapova. the former world number one pulled out of the rome open with a leg injury. that was just hours after being told she won't be given a wildcard for the french open. sharapova has competed at three events since returning from a 15 month doping suspension. but tournament organisers say they can offer wildcards to those coming back from injury, not to those coming back from drug bans. iam very i am very sorry for maria, very sorry for her fans. they might be very disappointed. she might be very disappointed. but it is my mission to protect the game and to protect the high standard of the game played without any dope in the result. sharapova's bad day got worse when she was forced to retire from her second—round match in rome against mirjana lucic—baroni. the russian lost the first set to the croatian before levelling it at one apiece. sharapova went off for treatment after the opening game of the deciding set and returned with her leg strapped, but she decided she couldn't play any more despite being a break up. britain'sjohanna is into the third round in rome after a straight—sets victory over kazakhstan‘s yulia putintseva. the number five seed broke her opponent's serve four times on her way to a 6—3, 6—0 win. after shararopva's exit, there was also a shock in the men's draw, with defending champion andy murray losing in straight sets to italy's fabio fognini. the home favourite dominated the match from the very first point, racing into an early 3—0 lead. fognini kept his foot on the gas, closing the set in style with a love service. the noisy crowd loved every minute. it was more of the same in the second set, as murray couldn't find any rhythm with his serve. this was one of nine tournaments murray won last year, but the defeat is another sign that the world number one is struggling for form on the clay ahead of the french open. a lot of people think i've got no chance of doing anything at the french after the last couple of weeks, but, you know, i do thinki can. it is certainly not going to be easy. i am going to have to work ha rd easy. i am going to have to work hard these next ten days and, you know, really, you know, prepared very well, make the most of every single day and... and then really work my way into the tournament. it is going to be tough but i think i can still do well. four—time champion novak djokovic is safely through to the third round after beating britain's aljaz bedene. djokovic dominated a first set tie—break before going on to win the second set 6—2. the world number two has a good record in rome, having always reached at least the quarter—finals. our shot of the day goes to france's adrian mannarino. he lost to uruguay‘s pablo cuevas in straight sets, butjust look at this for a beautiful backhand drop shot. the crowd loved it, and we think it's worth a replay. i wish i could do that. here you see it in slow motion. he generates so much spin that the ball bounced back over the net. no way he is getting that. the race to host the 2024 olympics is very close between paris and los angeles. today, the new french president, emmanuel macron, put his full support behind his country's bid. he welcomed members of the ioc‘s inspection committee to the elyese palace. here's the bbc‘s sports editor dan roan. he isjust three he is just three days into the job at france's new president has wasted little time in back in paris's bid to host the 2024 games. macron welcoming numbers of the ioc to the elysee palace on the final day of the inspection visit. paris has committed to spending billions on the event and the city mayor told me why. we will transform the north of paris with the village for the athletes and after the games the village for the athletes will be housing for people. and we need to build housing for people in the north of paris. so, we are very, very committed. sport's showpiece event always provides magical moments but the sight of rio 26 to's abandoned olympic park has once again raised questions over legacy, and the vast cost of playing host means the games has an image problem. i will be here in the city of angels. despite this la wants to host the games with venues already built and like paris it has received praise from the ioc. things you talk about, cost overruns, budget issues, engaging the youth, those things go away and become deliverable as part of the bid. yes, there are challenges facing the olympic movement and we can calm the waters for seven years. we think that is what they need today. the ioc has grown accustomed to being courted by heads of state but unlike in the past this evaluation commission will only decide between two rival cities after a host of others pulled out of the race to stage the 2024 games because of a lack of public or political support and it could force the ioc into uncharted territory. whichever city loses looks set to be offered a 2028 games as a consolation prize as the ioc considers a two games deal at the risk of having no bidders. considers a two games deal at the risk of having no biddersm considers a two games deal at the risk of having no bidders. it is something we all have to look at and we have to figure out why, you know, oui’ we have to figure out why, you know, our events are not maybe as attractive as they were 20 or 30 yea rs attractive as they were 20 or 30 years ago. we should always be challenging ourselves as to how we can make these events more appropriate for local communities. we need to communicate some of those values and i am not sure that we have, you know, iam not values and i am not sure that we have, you know, i am not sure any of us have, you know, i am not sure any of us have really done that. this two horse race seems too close to call. paris and la have hosted the olympics before and insist the focus is solely on the 2024 games but at a critical time for the future of the event the ioc knows that the pressure is on to find solution that works for everyone. cycling's giro d'italia has a new leader after dutch rider tom dumoulin dominated tuesday's time—trial stage through umbria's wine—making region. the olympic silver—medallist finished in 50 minutes and 37 seconds. that gave him an advantage of more than two minutes over columbia's nairo quintana, who held the leader's pinkjersey before the stage. and, finally, if you're a busy athlete, how do you get the attention of someone you fancy? belgian cyclist victor campa naerts has used his chest. didn't need a six pack, did he? he used the time trial to ask a young lady out on a date. it must have taken his mind off thejob, as he finished 182nd out of 190. that's nearly 11 minutes off the pace. we don't know if she's said yes. but we hope so, ‘cause ten points for effort. but from me and the rest of the sport today team, goodbye. hello there, good morning. tuesday is probably going to be a day remembered for the high temperatures. looking outdoors, we had some blue skies at times here in lossiemouth, in scotland, and more blue skies and some more humid air here in kent. those two are significant, because in scotland it was the warmest day of the year so far, and with a temperature of 26 degrees at gravesend, the warmest day in the uk so far. but, in between this band of cloud, which didn't produce an awful lot of rain, but that cloud is thickening to give us a bit more rain today. and the warm air is going to get pushed ever so slowly away into the near continent. we're going to get into this cooler, fresher air, with sunshine and showers over the next few days. a chilly start, though, for scotland and northern ireland this morning, one or two showers in the north—west. but, by the morning, the rain more extensive across a large part of england and wales. now, through the day we will enjoy some sunshine in scotland and northern ireland, but we will see a few some showers, some of them heavy, coming into the north—west. whereas, for a large part of england and wales, it is going to be cold and wet all day, with some warmth, though, before that rain really gets going in east anglia and the south—east. but temperatures will be a bit lower than they were on tuesday in scotland and northern ireland. many eastern and southern parts of scotland staying dry, with some sunshine, but showers to the north—west and across northern ireland. and if you are stuck underneath this rain across a good part of northern england, wales, and the south—west, it really is going to feel quite cold. the rain starts to ease off later into the afternoon, but cold and wet all day through the midlands, central and southern england. ahead of the rain in east anglia and the south—east, it will be warm and humid. but once that rain arrives, late afternoon and into the evening, it could be very heavy and thundery across the east midlands, east anglia and the south—east. the rain begins to clear away from areas further west. so that is the first soaking rain for the gardens we've had for some time towards the south—east, but could lead to some difficult travelling conditions. by thursday, it is all gone. we're into sunshine and showers. most of the showers out to the west, some heavy ones. but it may well be a dry day across east anglia and the south—east. that is where we're seeing the highest temperatures, but they are tending to slip away. numbers are dropping, typically into the mid—teens. and sliding in from the atlantic, slowly but surely, we've got this area of low pressure, which is just going to amplify the showers into longer spells of rain for northern ireland and for western scotland, closer to the centre of the low. otherwise, some sunshine and some showers scattered about, some of them still on the heavy side, and temperatures typically 14 or 15 degrees, and not getting any warmer over the weekend. yes, there will be some sunshine at times, but some further heavy showers. and, with clear skies at night, it will be on the chilly side. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: the trump administration is facing further controversy, with reports that the president asked the fbi directorjames comey to drop an investigation into his former national security adviser, michael flynn. meanwhile, president trump insists he did nothing wrong in sharing sensitive intelligence with the russian foreign minister. his team says he did the right thing. it is wholly appropriate for the president to share whatever information he thinks is necessary to advance the security of the american people — that's what he did. following north korea's latest missile test, the un security council meets behind closed doors and the us vows to call—out states backing pyongyang.