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AMMAN — Jordan is upbeat as it hosts Bangladesh on Thursday in its return leg Group B qualifier for the 2018 World Cup  doubling as part of the qualification for 2019 Asian Cup.

The Kingdom, now second in the group after losing 1-0 to Kyrgyzstan in its last qualifier, now needs a win ahead of its decisive away match against group leaders Australia on March 29.

After an interim inconsistent period following their November qualifier HRH Prince Ali, chairman of the Jordan Football Association on Tuesday introduced Harry Redknapp who will lead the team in the upcoming period with a focus on reaching the Asian Championship and keep World Cup qualifying chances alive.

Prince Ali attended team practice and underlined players were up to the task ahead. "Let us take things at a time, focus on winning the next two matches and rally around our squad," the Prince added urging fans to boost team morale in the upcoming match on Thursday.

Redknapp sounded optimistic although he has a tough task with the little time to prepare the line-up. "I have come here to win the upcoming two matches. It will not be easy but it's a challenge we must win. We have to believe we can do it," he added.

Redknapp guided Tottenham into the UEFA Champions League for the very first time in 2009–10 the season. He previously managed Bournemouth, West Ham United, Portsmouth, Southampton, and Queens Park Rangers. In his second spell at Portsmouth, he managed the side that won the 2008 FA Cup.

With the match against group leader Australia less than a week away, Jordan is now second in Group B behind Australia after losing 1-0 to Kyrgyzstan, beating Australia 2-0 and Tajikistan 3-0.  In the first leg, Jordan was held to a  disappointing 0-0 draw with  Kyrgyzstan, beat Tajikistan  3-1, Bangladesh 4-0.  

Forty teams are playing home and away in a round-robin format in the current second qualifying round which ends in March. The group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) will advance to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The next best 24 teams from the preliminary stage of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining slots (12 slots or 11 slots + 1 slot for the host) in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup. 

Jordan is 82nd in latest FIFA World rankings but observesr noted the drawbacks of not playing friendlies ahead of the last two qualifiers and only beating Egypt 1-0 earlier this year under interim coach Abdullah Abu Zam'eh. Egypt did not employ its senior squad and Jordan played without most pros while some were on the injury list. 

The Kingdom had the most memorable World Cup qualifying journey in 2013 when it advanced to play then World's 6th ranked Uruguay in an intercontinental qualifying tie for a place in the 2014 World Cup. Jordan lost the home game 5-0 and held the former World Cup champ 0-0 in the away match. Jordan had never reached that far in World Cup qualifying since taking part in the qualifiers as of 1985. Round 3 had been the furthest Jordan reached in the  past 7 times in the qualifiers since 1986.

In the Asian Cup, Jordan reached the Championship three times since first taking part in qualifiers in 1972. The pinnacle was at the 13th Asian Cup, when they lost to Japan in the quarter-finals and jumped to the best ever FIFA rank of 37th in August 2004. In 2011, Jordan again reached the quarter-finals.

In 2015, Jordan's lineup was led by Briton Ray Wilkins under whom the team failed to advance past 8 groups stage of the 16th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup. Ahmad Abdul Qader took over in the transitional phase under whom the team played the first qualifier. Belgian Paul Put took over in July and his contract was suspended after he got caught in the midst of a court case over match fixing in the  Belgian league. 

Group B standings

AMMAN – The national football team’s head coach, Harry Redknapp, said players  have to work hard in order to win the next two matches and do their best in order to achieve good results, adding that he does not have a “magic wand” for victories.

“I cannot walk in suddenly… go come on… you know we are going to play like Brazil. If I can help just get another 5 per cent you know from the players that would make a difference. I would be delighted but it’s down to the players,” he said, addressing reporters at a press conference at the premises of Jordan Football Association (JFA) in Amman on Tuesday. 

HRH Prince Ali, president of the JFA, thanked Redknapp and said: “He is passionate to work with Nashama [the nickname given to the national team] and this is a source of pride for me because he is one of the most successful coaches in England and in the world. I wish the team well.”

He expressed hope that the fans would flock to the stadium in Amman on Thursday to support the national team during their World Cup qualifier against Bangladesh, and for the team to win in order to boost their morale against Australia the following week.

Redknapp, who expressed delight to be in Jordan, said he was very pleased with the skills of the players during a training session on Monday. He did not comment on his future with the team, adding that at the moment he is working for two matches.

“I have been in football long enough, in football if I come and we can win the games and everybody is happy with me I would love to come back. At the moment it is just two games and I think if we don’t beat Bangladesh maybe the prince puts me on the plane tomorrow, but we have to make sure that we will win,” he said with a smile. 

Following the press conference, both Prince Ali and Redknapp attended a training session for the team. The Kingdom will face Bangladesh at home on March 24 and Australia in an away match on March 29. 

The national team is second in Group B behind Australia after losing 1-0 to Kyrgyzstan, beating Australia 2-0 and Tajikistan 3-0. In the first leg, 

Jordan was held to a disappointing 0-0 draw with Kyrgyzstan, beat Tajikistan 3-1 and Bangladesh 4-0.

It isn’t the title they ultimately desire, but it’s a start. The real work is yet to come for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

LeBron James had 33 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, and the Cavs used a new-look defence to clinch the Central Division title with a 124-91 victory Monday night against the Denver Nuggets.

Cleveland (50-20) endured frustrating moments of inconsistency throughout the season, but it still sealed the fifth division crown in team history and their ninth 50-win season.

“All is not bad,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. “We’re still growing, we’re still getting better on a night-to-night basis and we can celebrate this, but we gotta keep moving forward.”

The Cavs scrapped some of their defensive principles that haven’t been working the last few weeks and returned to the simplified format that carried them to the NBA finals last season. They held the Nuggets to 39.5 per cent shooting Monday and led by as many as 36 in the fourth quarter after Denver’s five starters combined to match James’ 33 points.

“It was embarrassing,” Nuggets coach Mike Malone said. “An embarrassing effort. I haven’t seen that from our team most of the year. I’m very disappointed with that.”

The Cavs built a 19-point lead in the first quarter when they scored 38 points, their most in an opening quarter all season. However, they give it all back in the second when Nuggets reserve guard Will Barton scored 16 of his team-high 27.

Cleveland went scoreless for more than six minutes while the Nuggets scored 17 consecutive points mainly off the Cavs’ reserves. When James and the starters returned, the Cavs reclaimed momentum.

The game was essentially over after three quarters, and James left to an ovation with six minutes remaining after securing his second triple-double of the season and the 41st of his career.

In this season of the unexpected, however, James again made a stir by unfollowing the Cavs from his Twitter account. James’ cryptic messages a few weeks ago on social media set the Internet on fire, as did Monday’s revelation he no longer follows the Cavs.

Asked about the reasoning behind it, James stared down a reporter momentarily before responding simply, “Next question”.

The Cavs have fought to stay out of their own way most of the season. Locker room issues led to the firing of coach David Blatt at midseason, while the play of fellow stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love seemed to aggravate James at times this season.

Still, Cleveland remain atop the conference and hold a slim one-game lead on the Toronto Raptors for home-court advantage in the East playoffs. The Cavs’ blowout victory Monday, led by a dazzling performance from James, followed an embarrassing loss at Miami on Saturday when Cleveland trailed by 33 in the fourth quarter. That is the way it has gone most of the season.

Even Monday, the reserves let the Nuggets back in the game in the second quarter before the starters could put the game away in the second half.

“We definitely have to develop that killer instinct,” Lue said. “When we get up, we get cute — the fancy passes, we take a couple bad and questionable shots. We’ve got to continue to get better at that and continue to step on guys’ throats when we have them down.”

Cavs forward Channing Frye scored 14 points as a replacement for Love, who did not play because he was ill. J.R. Smith scored 15 points, and Matthew Dellavedova had 10 points and seven assists off the bench. Irving finished with eight points and three assists.

Jusuf Nurkic, Gary Harris and Nikola Jokic each scored 11 points for the Nuggets, although Harris was a minus-45 during his 34 minutes.

“We got our butts kicked,” Malone said. “I’m not going to use any excuses for it. For the most part, they did whatever they wanted and we helped them do it.”

DALLAS — Dirk Nowitzki scored 40 points and Deron Williams had 31 points and 16 assists, leading the Dallas Mavericks to a 132-120 overtime win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.

Nowitzki and Williams capped season-high scoring efforts with the first 11 points in overtime. Williams made a tiebreaking 3-pointer before Nowitzki scored eight straight points.

The Mavericks’ victory moved them within a half-game of the Trail Blazers for the sixth playoff position in the Western Conference. Dallas has 12 games to play and Portland 11.

The Mavericks (35-35) also gained a tiebreaker by winning the first two of three games in the season series against the Trail Blazers (36-35). The teams play again in Portland on Wednesday.

Damian Lillard led the Trail Blazers with 26 points. Allen Crabbe scored 24 points, and C.J. McCollum had 22. Miles Plumlee had 14 points and 19 rebounds.

Raptors 105, Magic 100

DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points, leading Toronto to the win.

Luis Scola had 20 points as the Raptors moved within one game of idle Cleveland for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

Evan Fournier and Victor Oladipo each had 21 points for Orlando, which lost their seventh straight game in Toronto and have now lost 13 of the last 14 meetings with the Raptors.

A 3-pointer from Fournier with 1:11 remaining trimmed Toronto’s lead to 97-96, but DeRozan responded with a floating jumper with 53.9 seconds left and added the free throw after being fouled by Ersan Ilyasova.

Pelicans 109, Clippers 105

Jrue Holiday scored 22 points, helping the injury-riddled Pelicans to the victory.

Omer Asik scored a season-high 15 points and tied his season best with 14 rebounds for New Orleans, while Dante Cunningham scored a season-high 19 points. Reserve guard Tim Frazier added a season-high 17 points.

Chris Paul and J.J. Redick each scored 24 points, and Paul also had 13 assists for the Clippers, who lost in Memphis on Saturday night and were playing their second game in less than 24 hours. Los Angeles missed 19 3-point attempts and 13 free throws.

The Pelicans tipped off shortly after announcing All-Star forward Anthony Davis, who hurt his left knee on Friday night, would miss the rest of the season to treat that injury as well as a torn labrum in his left shoulder that he played with for much of the season.

Kings 88, Knicks 80

DeMarcus Cousins had 24 points and 20 rebounds, and Sacramento had their best defensive performance of the season.

The Kings, who came in allowing a league-worst 109.6 points per game, easily surpassed their previous best of 88 points allowed, shutting down a Knicks team that played without leading scorer Carmelo Anthony.

Cousins emerged the winner in a good big-man duel with Robin Lopez, who finished with 23 points and 20 rebounds for the Knicks, playing through his usual frustrations with the officiating and even a security guard in this one.

New York fell to 0-8 this season without Anthony, who was still bothered by symptoms of a migraine that he began suffering from Saturday night in a loss at Washington.

Celtics 120, 76ers 105

Isaiah Thomas led six Celtics players in double figures with 26 points as Boston ended a four-game skid.

Jared Sullinger added 17 points and 13 rebounds for Boston, which swept the four-game season series against the 76ers to make their eight consecutive wins against Philadelphia. The Celtics avoided matching their longest losing streak of the season with the victory.

Carl Landry scored 26 points for the 76ers, who have lost five in a row and 18 of the last 19 to fall to 9-61.

Jazz 94, Bucks 85

Gordon Hayward scored 18 points, including 13 during a decisive third quarter, as the Jazz won for the fifth time in six games.

Utah remained one game behind Dallas for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Trey Lyles added 14 points for the Jazz, and Shelvin Mack had 13 points and 12 assists. Rudy Gobert finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

Milwaukee is 4-18 in their last 22 games against Utah. Jabari Parker had 19 points and eight rebounds for the Bucks.

AMMAN – The new head coach of the national football team Harry Redknapp led his first training session at the Amman International Stadium on Monday. Redknapp agreed to take over the team for the World Cup qualifiers against Bangladesh and Australia this month.

The former Tottenham Hotspur manager talked to the technical team as he entered the stadium and he also talked to a number of players. Redknapp is expected to hold his first press conference at the Jordan Football Federation’s headquarters in Amman around midday on Tuesday.

The Kingdom will face Bangladesh at home on March 24 and Australia in an away match on March 29. The national team is second in Group B behind Australia after losing 1-0 to Kyrgyzstan, beating Australia 2-0 and Tajikistan 3-0. In the first leg, Jordan was held to a disappointing 0-0 draw with Kyrgyzstan, beat Tajikistan 3-1 and Bangladesh 4-0.

SAN ANTONIO — LaMarcus Aldridge had 26 points and 13 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Golden State Warriors 87-79 on Saturday night to remain perfect at the AT&T Centre this season and extend their home dominance over the defending NBA champions to 33 straight regular-season games.

Kawhi Leonard added 18 points and 14 rebounds for San Antonio, which have won 44 straight at home in the regular season, tied for the second-longest streak in NBA history. Golden State have the longest regular-season home winning streak at 50 games and counting.

The Spurs held Warriors superstar Stephen Curry to 14 points while limiting him to 1-for-12 shooting on 3-pointers.

San Antonio (59-10) moved within three games of Golden State (62-7) for the league’s top seed with two games remaining between the two teams.

Heat 122, Cavaliers 101

Dwyane Wade scored 24 points to surpass 20,000 for his career, Josh Richardson added 19 and Miami never trailed in beating Cleveland.

Goran Dragic had 18 points and 11 assists for Miami, Joe Johnson also scored 18 and Hassan Whiteside finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Miami outrebounded Cleveland 42-26 and led by as many as 33 at one point.

LeBron James had 26 points for Cleveland and sat out the final 15 minutes, the outcome already long been decided when his night ended. Richard Jefferson scored 20 and Kyrie Irving had 14 for the Cavaliers, who have lost 11 consecutive games in Miami.

Thunder 115, Pacers 111

Russell Westbrook had his second triple-double in two nights, Kevin Durant had 33 points and 13 rebounds, and Oklahoma City overcame Paul George’s 45 points to beat Indiana.

Westbrook finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists, his 14th triple-double of the season. Durant nearly had one, too, finishing with eight assists to lead Oklahoma City to their fourth straight win.

Indiana erased a 10-point half-time deficit and regained the lead early in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t hold it. After Indiana took their last lead at 98-97 with 8:28 to go, the Thunder answered with a 9-0 run.

Nuggets 101, Hornets 93

D.J. Augustin scored 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting, and Denver ended a three-game road losing streak with a victory over Charlotte.

Darrell Arthur and Gary Harris added 13 points apiece for the Nuggets, while Nikola Jokic had 11 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter.

Nicolas Batum had 24 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for the Hornets, who lost at home for only the third time in the last 15 games. Jeremy Lin had 16 points and Kemba Walker added 15 for Charlotte.

It was a costly loss for the Hornets, who had beaten Miami on Thursday night to pull into a tie with the Heat for the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference.

Grizzlies 113, Clippers 102

Zach Randolph recorded his first career triple-double with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, Tony Allen added 22 points and Memphis beat the Clippers.

Randolph, returning from a seven-game absence due to a sore knee, was 10 of 19 from the floor, while Allen was 7 of 10. Ray McCallum added 14 for Memphis, including seven in the fourth quarter. Lance Stephenson had 12 points and JaMychal Green finished with 11 as Memphis ended a four-game losing streak.

The Clippers have lost three of four.

Hawks 109, Rockets 97

Al Horford scored 22 points and streaking Atlanta continued to dominate Western Conference teams by beating Michael Beasley and Houston.

The Hawks have won five straight and eight of nine. They’ve also won six straight against Western Conference teams.

Beasley led Houston with a season-high 30 points, including 12 of the team’s 14 fourth-quarter points. James Harden had 25 and Dwight Howard had eight points and 17 rebounds.

Bulls 92, Utah 85

Derrick Rose scored 22 points to lead short-handed Chicago past Utah, ending the Jazz’s four-game winning streak.

Taj Gibson had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Nikola Mirotic added 15 points for Chicago.

Rose was 10 for 15 from the field as the Bulls won their second straight. Chicago (35-33) remained in eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

The Bulls were playing without Pau Gasol (right knee swelling) and E’Twaun Moore (left hamstring).

Gordon Hayward, Utah’s leading scorer with 20.1 points per game, had nine points on 4-for-13 shooting after missing two games with plantar fasciitis of the right foot.

Wizards 99, Knicks 89

John Wall had 24 points and 10 assists, and Washington rallied from an 18-point, second-quarter deficit to beat New York for its fourth straight victory.

It was the largest comeback win of the season for the Wizards, who began Saturday 10th in the Eastern Conference, but are now just 1 1/2 games out of the eighth and final play-off spot.

Wall, who was seeking his third straight triple-double, fell short with two rebounds, but committed just one turnover after totalling 17 in his last two games.

Pistons 115, Nets 103

Anthony Tolliver scored all 17 of his points in the second half and Aron Baynes scored 17 of his 21 in the fourth quarter to lift Detroit over Brooklyn.

The Pistons trailed by six in the third and were in danger of what would have been a terrible home loss, but they were eventually able to take advantage of Brook Lopez’s absence, missing the game with a virus.

Tolliver helped turn the game as he made four 3-pointers and matched his season high in scoring. Baynes, another Detroit backup, set a career high thanks to his big fourth quarter.

Thaddeus Young scored 24 points for the Nets. Brooklyn has lost eight of ten.

AMMAN  — Fuheis Club host the 4th West Asian Women’s Basketball Champions Cup which tips off Monday in Amman.

The championship which runs up to March 25 hosts teams from three countries: Lebanon’s Riyadi and Homenetmen, Palestine’s Sariet Ramallah and Jordan’s Orthodoxi and Fuheis.

Fuheis President Ayman Samawi noted the Jordan Basketball Federations and Orthodox Club had cooperated with his club to make the tournament a success. “Everyone’s efforts are needed to help advance women’s basketball. We hope fans will come and enjoy some regional matches and boost the game.”

In 2015, Lebanon’s Riyadi took the title after beating Syria’s Wihda who came in second while Orthodoxi came in third. Fuheis were fourth and Sariet Ramallah finished fifth.

Wihda’s Elissa Magarian was chosen the tournament’s best player and top scorer averaging 24 points per game.

Lebanon’s Antranik Club had won the title before.

In 2014, Orthodoxi finished 4th at the 16th Arab Clubs Basketball Championship for Women in Egypt when Lebanon’s Riyadi retained the title.

In the men’s championship, Orthodoxi hosted the 16th West Asian Clubs Championship earlier this year which qualifies teams to the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) Champions Cup.

Iran’s Petroshemi, Lebanon’s Riyadi and Iraq’s Shurta advanced from the zonal qualifiers as Orthodoxi appeared below form and lost all four matches. The West Asian Clubs Championship has been dominated by Lebanese and Iranian teams since it started in 1998. Orthodoxi were the only Jordanian team to win the title in 1999.

Jordanian runners-up to the event were Jazira (currently Riyadi’s team) in 1998, Orthodoxi in 2001 and 2002, Arena in 2003 and Zain in 2009.

DALLAS — Stephen Curry had several dazzling plays on his way to 31 points, fellow “Splash Brother” Klay Thompson scored 39 and the Golden State Warriors tuned up for a showdown in San Antonio with a 130-112 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday.

Among a number of displays that drew roars from the Dallas crowd, Curry stole the ball from Dirk Nowitzki near midcourt before hitting a 35-footer over him at the first-quarter buzzer. He then glanced a 3-pointer off the glass from the corner with Nowitzki in his face again in the second quarter.

The Warriors made 14 of their first 17 from long range, finished 22 of 38 and won their seventh straight. Now they try to tackle the NBA’s longest losing streak on another team’s court — 32 straight at the Spurs going back to February 14, 1997.

The Warriors (62-6) have won seven straight and are now two games ahead of Chicago’s pace when the Bulls set the NBA record with 72 wins in 1995-96, while the Spurs (58-10) have won 43 straight on their home floor.

“Right now, by NBA standards, this is bigger than the Rolling Stones on tour,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. “Wherever they go, there’s a mass of people and a huge following.”

In other games, Kyrie Irving scored 26 points and LeBron James had 18, including a lay-up and pair of free throws down the stretch, to help Cleveland hold off Orlando 109-103 and clinch a play-off spot.

Channing Frye came off the bench to make four 3-pointers and score 14 against his former team as the Cavs beat the Magic for the 14th consecutive time. A rested James returned to the line-up after taking off Wednesday’s home victory over Dallas and finished 6-of-15 shooting with eight assists and seven rebounds.

Victor Oladipo had a career-high 45 points for Orlando, but only scored six in the fourth quarter.

Russell Westbrook recorded his league-leading 13th triple-double with 20 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, and Kevin Durant had 26 points and 13 boards to lead Oklahoma City to a 111-97 victory over Philadelphia.

Westbrook’s 13 triple-doubles tie Grant Hill (1996-97) and Jason Kidd (2007-08) for the most in a season over the last 25 years.

Enes Kanter contributed 16 points for the Thunder, who also clinched a play-off spot with the win.

In Toronto, Kyle Lowry scored 32 points and Luis Scola had all of his 17 in the first quarter as the Raptors beat Boston 105-91.

Lowry was 9 for 14 from the field, including 5 for 8 from 3-point range, and Toronto led the entire way in their third straight victory.

Isaiah Thomas scored 20 points for Boston, who matched a season worst with their fourth straight loss.

Damian Lillard was knocked to the floor by a vicious Kendrick Perkins forearm, but recovered to score 33 points and lead Portland to a 117-112 victory over New Orleans.

Perkins’ hit put Lillard flat on his back and resulted in some brief shoving, as well as Perkins’ ejection. The dust-up enlivened the Pelicans, who fought back from a 20-point deficit and briefly held slim leads in the final minutes until C.J. McCollum, who had 30 points, hit a 3 to put Portland ahead for good with a minute left.

New Orleans’ Anthony Davis sat out the second half with a left knee injury, the severity of which was unclear.

Elsewhere, Detroit pulled into a virtual tie with Chicago for the last play-off spot in the Eastern Conference by beating Sacramento at home 115-108. Marcus Morris scored 20 of his 24 points in the first half.

James Harden had 29 points and 14 assists as Houston beat Minnesota 116-111, and Phoenix held on for a 95-90 win over the Los Angeles Lakers after nearly blowing a 19-point lead.

MELBOURNE — Formula One’s new qualifying system faces an immediate revision after a woeful debut at the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday that failed to deliver the promised shake-up of the established order and was panned by drivers and abandoned by fans who walked out on the anti-climactic event.

Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position with a time of 1 minute, 23.837 at the Albert Park circuit, three-tenths of a second faster than Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, with third and fourth place filled by the Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.

The new format of rolling eliminations every 90 seconds produced plenty of action, and some confusion, in the first qualifying session, but in the third segment, which decided the top end of the grid for Sunday’s race, most drivers elected not to go out on the track and instead saved their tyres for the race.

With three minutes remaining on the clock, the leading drivers were out of their cars and fans were streaming out of the grandstands.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, a key player on the F1 strategy group that voted in favour of the new qualifying format despite warnings of such a possible anti-climactic finish, admitted it needed immediate review.

“The new qualifying format was pretty rubbish,” Wolff said. “Everyone is trying to do their best to improve the show, but when you find out you have not improved the show but made it worse, then you need to sit down and say what can be done, can you come back, and that discussion is going to take place.

“The solution is not good and that is why we have to come back and do it again.”

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner backed that call for a revision, which may take place before the next race in Bahrain.

“First of all, we should apologise,” Horner said. “The intentions were well-meant but we have got it wrong. We need to address it immediately. What we saw today wasn’t good for Formula One.”

Hamilton was enthusiastic about the smooth performance of his car, saying he was able to post some “sexy laps” that made him “feel like James Brown”, but he also slammed the new format.

“To improve, you have to make mistakes, you can’t just improve all the time,” Hamilton said. “This is perhaps a step in the wrong direction, but I wouldn’t say go back to the old way because we have had it for years. Let’s try and take a step back and figure out another route that is even more exciting.”

Toro Rosso lived up to expectations of a strong start to the season and outperformed the senior Red Bull team, with Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz Jr qualifying fifth and seventh respectively, separated by Williams veteran Felipe Massa.

Local favourite Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull qualified eighth, with the Force India pair of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg completing the top 10.

After a rainy Friday that made meaningful car set-up preparations impossible, Saturday was cool and dry at the Albert Park circuit, and the same conditions were forecast for the race.

Vettel said Mercedes’ continued dominance in qualifying was expected, but believes the Ferraris can match their long-run pace, saying “tomorrow we expect to be quite a lot closer”.

Manor driver Rio Haryanto had a bad start to his F1 career, being hit with a three-place grid penalty after colliding with the Haas of Romain Grosjean in pitlane as they exited their garages to being the pre-qualifying practice. The collision cost Grosjean about half the session as his car underwent repairs.

Haas outperformed Manor in qualifying, with Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez to fill the second-to-last row of the grid ahead of the Manors at the back.

There were also promising performances by Renault in its first race back as a team owner, with both drivers making into the second qualifying session. McLaren drivers Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button also made the second session and will start 12th and 13th, respectively, on Sunday.

MUNICH — Thomas Mueller equalised in the first minute of injury time and Bayern Munich scored two more goals in extra time to complete a thrilling 4-2 victory over Juventus on Wednesday that sent the German powerhouse into the Champions League quarter-finals.

Thiago Alcantara scored in the 108th minute to put Bayern ahead for good in the second leg match of the last 16 and Kingsley Coman, on loan from Juventus, added the hosts’ fourth goal just two minutes later to seal a 6-4 victory on aggregate.

Bayern trailed 2-0 at half-time after goals from Paul Pogba and Juan Cuadrado put Juventus firmly in charge. The home side looked to be on the way out until Robert Lewandowski scored in the 73rd minute and Mueller’s late header changed everything.

“To score four goals against an Italian side, wow, compliments to my team,” Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said.

The match, at least in regulation time, was nearly a replica of the first leg in Turin, where Bayern dominated and led 2-0 before Juventus struck back with two late goals to salvage a draw.

Juventus, last season’s runner-up, produced a clever tactical display, defending smartly and relying on dangerous counterattacks. And it was seconds away from success.

“It’s disappointing, because we were so close,” Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said.

Guardiola’s team, a five-time winner, is in their fifth straight quarter-final.

“After our first goal, we saw that Juventus was not counterattacking any more. It’s that German mentality to try until the end,” Guardiola said.

In the other match on Wednesday, Barcelona’s big three of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar all scored to beat Arsenal 3-1, sending the defending champions into the Champions League quarter-finals for a ninth consecutive season with a 5-1 victory on aggregate.

With Bayern besieging the Italians’ goal, Douglas Costa sent a cross from the right corner and Lewandowski headed home at the far post from close range to put Bayern back into the match.

Bayern’s perseverance paid off in the first minute of added time. Patrice Evra lost the ball near the penalty area and Coman crossed to the far post for Mueller to head home and send the 71,000 at the Allianz arena into frenzied celebrations.

Alcantara, a substitute in extra time for Franck Ribery, swapped passes and beat Gianluigi Buffon, before Coman, also a substitute, made sure of victory by curling a shot past the Italian keeper.

Juventus may have taken Bayern by surprise with their pressing deep inside Bayern’s half from the opening whistle and the Italian side got their dividend early when Pogba scored his first Champions League goal since November 2014.

Sami Khedira sent a long ball down the right and David Alaba missed his clearance attempt. With Manuel Neuer also mistiming his exit from the goal, Stephan Liechtensteiner was able to square the ball to Pogba, who slotted home from the edge of the penalty area into the empty net.

Juventus pulled back a little after the goal, but always looked dangerous and doubled the lead in the 28th minute after a great run by Morata.

The forward picked up the ball in his half and slalomed past four defenders before passing to Cuadrado, who fired inside the near post over Neuer.

Buffon parried an effort from Mueller in the 42nd minute and the attempted clearance by the Juventus defence bounced off Lewandowski and flew just wide.

Immediately after, Neuer did well to save a close-range shot by Cuadrado.

Juventus had former Bayern forward Mario Mandzukic on the bench, while Bayern were without winger Arjen Robben because of a groin problem.

The Italians were already without midfielder Claudio Marchisio, defender Giorgio Chiellini and striker Paulo Dybala, all injured.

Morata had two chances early in the second half after counterattacks but finished poorly. Mandzukic came in for Morata in the 71st minute but Juventus missed Morata’s speed.

Friday’s draw will feature Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Benfica, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Wolfsburg. Teams from the same country can be drawn together.