KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Baltimore left fielder Colton Cowser threw the ball from the final out of a 9-7 win over Kansas City into the Kauffman Stadium fountains. About two minutes later, he realized he might have made a mistake.

Craig Kimbrel had gotten his 422nd save Saturday night, tying Billy Wagner for seventh on the career list.

"Right when I threw it I said, 'Craig has a lot of saves, that one might be important,'" Cowser recalled.

Cowser, who entered as a replacement when Austin Hays' calf tightened, had caught Salvador Perez's fly in front of the warning track. When Cowser realized what he had done, he ran back onto the field and searched.

"There were two balls in the fountains and the other one was really old," he said.

Kimbrel, 35, has five saves in six chances this season, and the nine-time All-Star has allowed just one run in nine innings.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde knew Kimbrel needed that ball and faulted the 24-year-old rookie.

"I guess Cow just threw the ball into the stands," Hyde said. "We've got to have a little more awareness out in left field when you catch that, when the guy on the mound is that high in saves."

For his part, Cowser said he learned his lesson.

"Every time I catch the ball and it's a last out from him now, it's staying in the glove," he said.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

It's another weekend of European football and, as we edge towards the end of the season, every single game feels like it has so much on the line.

Arsenal and Manchester City bounced back from their midweek Champions League exits with wins in the Premier League and FA Cup, respectively. City's semifinal win came at the expense of Chelsea, who were once again left to rue their profligacy up front.

An Erin Cuthbert strike gave Chelsea a shock 1-0 win over reigning champions Barcelona in the Women's Champions League, while in Italy, 72-year-old Claudio Ranieri reminded everyone of his legendary status.

Let's get into the action.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

SATURDAY REVIEW

The lead: Chelsea's striking woes on show

If Mauricio Pochettino keeps his job as Chelsea manager this summer, he won't need to come up with a clever pitch to convince the club to sign a new striker -- he only needs to play the tape of Saturday's 1-0 FA Cup semifinal defeat to Manchester City.

On a different day, Nicolas Jackson would have scored one of his three golden chances and the post-match headlines would have all been about Pochettino's tactical masterclass out-foxing City boss Pep Guardiola. Instead, he was left to talk about another missed opportunity just two months after he was last at Wembley talking about how his team should have beaten Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final.

At 22-years-old, Jackson -- with pace and strength to burn -- has plenty of potential, but leading the line for a club as big as Chelsea is a job for a more experienced goal-scorer. He's got 10 goals in the Premier League this season and 13 in all competitions, but if Chelsea have ambitions to re-establish themselves as a top-six club and genuine title contender, they need to sign someone more prolific.

Saturday's defeat to City wasn't all down to Jackson, and there were plenty of other examples of their wastefulness, but Pochettino would be forgiven for thinking that he won't be able to build the team he wants until he gets a better striker. -- Rob Dawson

Saturday talking points around the leagues

Ranieri on the brink of delivering another calcio miracle

Claudio Ranieri, the former Leicester City manager who led his team to an incredible and improbable Premier League title in 2016 against all odds, is about to create another kind of miracle with his Cagliari side is looking good avoid relegation in Serie A. On Friday night, they got another excellent result with a point against Juventus (2-2) at home after having led 2-0 at half-time. It puts Gli Isolani 14th in the table, five points clear of the drop zone with only five games to go.

Since January, they have beaten Bologna (fourth in the table) and Atalanta (fifth), drawn with Napoli, Internazionale and Juventus. They started the season with no win in their first nine games and Ranieri offered to leave after having taken the team back up to Serie A from Serie B last season. But the players insisted for him to stay and now the 72-year-old will add another great line to his already great CV.

What about Juventus, you ask? It was another poor performance from the Bianconeri. Head coach Max Allegri, his players, and their style of football from the ancient times were all terrible with only one shot on target in the first 45 minutes. They have now only won one of their last seven league matches, taking only seven points out of 21. Juve are still third in the league, but Bologna are now just five points behind them with a game in hand, while AS Roma are nine points behind with two games in hand in fifth.

As Cagliari and Ranieri are getting ready to celebrate at the end of their campaign, it is more doom and gloom at the moment for Juventus and Allegri, under more pressure than ever and uncertain to keep his place on the bench at the end of the season. -- Julien Laurens

Hayes' Chelsea grind to shock win in Barcelona

How do you keep Barcelona from scoring? That's been the question posed, but left unanswered, by every team the European champions have faced since the last time they drew a blank (against Wolfsburg) in April 2022. Even on the rare occasion of a loss or draw since, the Catalans have always found the back of the net, which makes Chelsea's 1-0 win in Montjuïc on Saturday afternoon all the more impressive.

The first leg of the Champions League semifinal was one for the purists; error-strewn from the hosts, but dogged and determined from Chelsea. The attritional style of play from the English champions left Barcelona passing into cul-de-sacs and running out of ideas. Cuthbert's well-taken goal late in the first half was all that separated the two teams come the full-time whistle, but for Chelsea it wasn't about the glory of the strike but rather the team ethic to keep the hosts at bay throughout the match.

While Barcelona have been flying all season, easing to every domestic piece of silverware available, Chelsea have been grinding and stuttering, having lost the league cup final and being kicked-out of the FA Cup final in back-to-back games over the last month.

As Chelsea boss Emma Hayes has been so fond of saying over the years, "it's only half-time [in the tie]" and Barcelona won't go out without a fight. The stage is set with all eyes already cast to the second leg in London next Saturday. -- Sophie Lawson

Americans Abroad

The highlight of Saturday in Europe for United States men's national team fans happened in Italy's second division. North Carolina native Gianluca Busio scored the game-winner for Venezia in their 2-1 win over Lecco in what could be a very important result.

With the win, Venezia moved into sole possession of third place on the Serie B table with promotion still on the line. The top two teams in Serie B are automatically promoted to the top-flight, and the third place team can either be promoted with enough points, or be placed into a multi-round playoff.

GIANLUCA BUSIO WINNER. USMNT teammate Tanner Tessmann sends it over the top from midfield, where it eventually finds the 21yo from Greensboro, NC. I Lagunari remain 3 points out of automatic promotion spots with 4 to play. pic.twitter.com/VPV8hkTeoE

Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) April 20, 2024

In U.S. women's national team news, Lindsey Horan earned the free kick that resulted in Lyon's second goal in their 3-2 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Women's Champions League semifinals first leg.

The second leg will be worth keeping an eye on for USWNT fans: either Horan and Lyon advance, or PSG -- the club of national team newbies Eva Gaetino and Korbin Albert -- will move on. That second leg at Parc de Princes will be played on April 28. -- Caitlin Murray

News of the day

• Speaking ahead of Manchester United's FA Cup semifinal against second-tier Coventry City on Sunday, Erik ten Hag has dismissed criticism of his performance as manager, saying he has never had his first-choice team available to him since taking over in the summer of 2022. "What concerns me is that in 18 months I have never had my favourite team on the pitch, that concerns me, because players are injured," he complained.

• Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola lashed out at the FA Cup schedule after his side reached the final by beating Chelsea 1-0 on Saturday, three days after their treble bid was ended by defeat on penalties by Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League. "It's unacceptable to let us play today," Guardiola told the BBC. "It's impossible, for the health of the players. It's not normal. It's unacceptable -- 120 minutes, the emotions of Madrid, the way we lose, honestly."

• Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said the Gunners' 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday was particularly pleasing, coming after his team were knocked out of the Champions League in the last eight by Bayern Munich in midweek. "It was a very good response, so proud of them," he told the BBC. "We reacted in the right way. We deserved to win the game and got another clean sheet again."

And finally...

It did not go all Manchester City's way in their FA Cup semifinal win over Chelsea on Saturday.

Jack Grealish got into with the fourth official after being subbed off in Man City's FA Cup clash against Chelsea pic.twitter.com/j4B8jwFDbH

ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) April 20, 2024

Jack Grealish, in particular, did not seem impressed with the officiating and let the fourth official know of his concerns after he was subbed off in the 66th minute.

With City in the midst of one of the tightest Premier League title races in years, Guardiola will be relying on all of his star players to be available. If Grealish attracts a ban for his act of petulance -- and that's a big if -- the Manchester City boss will understandably be furious. -- Mike Wise

NEW YORK -- After a second brief injury scare involving superstar center Joel Embiid in just over a week, Philadelphia 76ers coach Nick Nurse said after Saturday night's 111-104 loss to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in Game 1 of their best-of-7 first round series that there are no plans to shut the league's reigning MVP down.

"He really is a warrior," Nurse said of Embiid, "and he's battling.

"I think he absolutely wants to play."

Embiid briefly exited the game for the final 2:37 of the first half after a truly remarkable play that saw him throw down a ridiculous one-handed dunk after passing the ball to himself off the backboard.

Embiid, who led all scorers with 18 first half points, was at the free throw line with Knicks center Mitchell Robinson guarding him with 2:37 remaining in the second quarter when he dipped under Robinson, fired the ball off the backboard and, all in one motion, leapt in the air, caught it with his right hand and slammed it through the hoop.

But when Embiid came down, he landed on his left leg and immediately went down to the ground. Play continued, with the Knicks getting a layup at the other end, before Philadelphia could call timeout and take a look at him. After an extended period on the ground, Embiid -- who declined to talk to the media after the game -- eventually got to his feet and slowly walked off the court and directly back to Philadelphia's locker room under his own power, where he remained for the rest of the first half.

It was a moment eerily reminiscent of Embiid's exit from a game eight days ago at home against the Orlando Magic, when he drove to the basket, scored, went down, walked off under his own power and then returned to the floor for the start of the third quarter.

And, like in that game, Embiid returned to the bench just before the start of the second half, and rejoined his teammates on the floor.

"I knew when I went in at half time that they were checking him out," Nurse said. "And that he was up and moving. And they did say we are seeing. They didn't rule him out yet. They just took him all the way to the end there to get him ruled back in."

Embiid finished the game with 29 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals in 37 minutes and Philadelphia was plus-14 in his time on the court -- meaning the 76ers were outscored by 21 points in the 11 minutes Embiid sat on the bench. However, after Embiid scored 15 points on 5-for-9 shooting in the first quarter, he had 14 points on 3-for-13 shooting over the final three quarters, including going 2-for-11 in the second half.

In that Orlando game last week, Embiid also struggled after halftime, going for 11 points on 4-for-11 shooting.

This was Embiid's seventh game since returning to the court after two months following a procedure on his lateral meniscus in his left knee back in early February, including five regular season games and Wednesday's play-in victory over the Miami Heat.

"Nothing with Joel surprises me now," said Tyrese Maxey, who led Philadelphia with 33 points. "He's always a fighter. He's always gonna try and give it his all for his team. So, if he thinks he can go, he'll for sure be out there."

Texas Rangers starter Max Scherzer, continuing his recovery trail from offseason back surgery, is expected begin his rehabilitation assignment in the minor leagues next week.

The team has not announced where in its minor league system that Scherzer will pitch, but signs are pointing toward a return for the veteran right-hander to the defending World Series champions' rotation soon.

On Monday, Scherzer, 39, threw 24 pitches in a live batting practice session, according to Bally Sports Southwest, and on Friday night, he threw 40 more pitches in a two-inning simulated game, according to the Dallas Morning News. He's on track for one more bullpen session before making an appearance in the minors.

Texas manager Bruce Bochy, speaking in Atlanta before the Rangers took on the Braves Saturday, said Scherzer will likely start on Wednesday, but didn't indicate where. Both Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock, in the Rangers organization, are home this week, and Bochy's club will return to Arlington, Texas on Tuesday to begin a series with the Seattle Mariners.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner has told reporters that he has felt ahead of schedule since the moment he returned home from the December surgery.

"I really feel like we're kind of turning the corner here in terms of rehab," Scherzer said on April 10. "I'm recovering from things and kind of feeling normal. Looking good."

Scherzer was a trade-deadline pickup for the Rangers last summer, and he was 4-2 with a 3.20 ERA in eight starts before missing the last two weeks of the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs because of a strained muscle in his right shoulder.

"To have back surgery, I've been through that, and I've known guys that have been through it," Bochy said this month. "Let's be honest. He's not a spring chicken. For him to bounce back like this and be doing so well, yeah, I am amazed."

The bullpen may get a boost soon, as well. Josh Sborz, a reliever who went on the injured list April 6, is eligible to return as early as Tuesday against the Mariners. But he will get some time in the minors, as well, while he battles back from a right rotator cuff strain.

Sborz, 30, felt pain in his shoulder while pitching the eighth inning of a game against the Houston Astros earlier this month. The right-hander recorded the final seven outs in the Rangers' World Series-clinching Game 5 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks last season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Lionel Messi continued his red-hot start to the season, scoring twice and laying on an assist for Sergio Busquets as Inter Miami came from behind to beat Nashville SC 3-1 at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Saturday.

Messi now has nine goals and eight assists in nine games in all competitions so far this season. He is also the first player since 2016 to record a goal contribution in each of his first six MLS games to start a season.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, NWSL more (U.S.)

The Argentine forward's opening goal Saturday came in the 11th minute, when he finished off a goalmouth scramble after his initial effort had been saved by Nashville goalkeeper Elliot Panicco. 

The effort drew Miami level after an own goal by Miami defender Franco Negri, filling in for the injured Jordi Alba, gave Nashville the lead after just two minutes.

But Miami turned things around to go in front six minutes before halftime. Messi swung in a corner from the right that his former Barcelona teammate Busquets met with a header at the near post to net his first goal for Miami.

Nashville threatened to tie the game up once again in the second half. Goalkeeper Drake Callender kept Miami ahead when making a diving save off Hany Mukhtar's 35-yard effort in the 55th minute.

Messi then sealed back-to-back victories for Miami in the 81st minute. This time it came from the penalty spot, sending substitute goalkeeper Joe Willis the wrong way after Nashville defender Josh Bauer was penalized for a foul on substitute Leonardo Afonso.

The win moved Miami to 5-3-2 this season to stay top of the Eastern Conference. Nashville has made a struggling start to the year, at 1-4-3.

But it was not all positive for Gerardo "Tata" Martino's star-studded side, with key midfielder Diego Gómez stretchered off with an injury late in the first half. 

Miami was already without injured Argentina youth international midfielder Federico Redondo and has lost forward Facundo Farias for the season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Miami will next be in action when visiting New England next Saturday.

MINNEAPOLIS -- With the Target Center pulsating, Anthony Edwards decided to take the temperature of his shooting streak.

The Minnesota Timberwolves' dynamic young superstar, dripping with confidence, had already buried a string of jumpers, becoming more animated after each one widened the score. Then, with 48 seconds left in the game-defining third quarter, Edwards drifted toward the left wing and took aim.

Kevin Durant's infinite wingspan was a touch too late on the close-out and Edwards' 3-pointer danced through the net, letting loose a deafening roar from a sellout crowd.

The Timberwolves lead stretched to 16, and the 22-year-old Edwards celebrated by bobbing his head up and down, pounding one hand on his chest and shouting at the 35-year-old Durant, who shook his head and smiled. The moment electrified a sellout crowd, but it also felt like something more, something with historic gravity -- the future announcing its arrival, perhaps.

"I think everybody here knows that's my favorite player of all time, so that was probably one of the best feelings ever in my whole life," Edwards said Saturday after scoring a game-high 33 in the Timberwolves' 120-95 win in Game 1 of their first-round playoffs series against the Suns.

The Timberwolves' 25-point win marked their second-largest in postseason history, according to ESPN Stats & Information research, behind only a 28-point trouncing of the Lakers on April 22, 2003. And Edwards was the catalyst. The former No. 1 overall pick added 9 rebounds and 6 assists and another notch to his growing legend.

Dating to last season, Saturday proved to be his fifth straight playoff game with 25 or more points -- the longest such streak in team history. Edwards' sixth playoff game of 30 or more points also placed him one behind Timberwolves legend Kevin Garnett for the most such games in franchise history.

But Edwards' biggest impact came in the third quarter, when he scored 18 points -- tied with Sam Cassell for most in a quarter in Timberwolves playoff history -- and notched more field goals (eight) than the Suns (six) did as a team.

By the end of that quarter, the Timberwolves led by 20 -- just the second time in franchise history that they've led by that much entering the fourth of a postseason contest. The fourth quarter largely amounted to garbage time.

Game 2 of the series will be held Tuesday, with the Timberwolves seeking to escape the first round of the postseason for the first time since 2004. Durant, a 14-time All-Star playing his first full season in Phoenix, led the Suns with 31 points, and he acknowledged the obvious in terms of his exchange with Edwards: "He got it going, he made some tough ones."

But Edwards, a two-time All-Star, lobbed considerable praise toward Durant.

"Did you see him in the third quarter?" Edwards remarked of Durant. "I felt like we were supposed to be up 15, 18 in the third quarter early. And, if I'm not mistaken, he made four or five straight buckets like it was nothing. And I became a fan at one point. I was out there like, 'God damn, he nice.' There's nothing we can do. [Karl-Anthony Towns] was playing great defense. Rudy [Gobert] was playing great defense.

"I'm looking at the stat sheet, he's 11 for 17 [from the field]. He missed six shots and had 31. I mean, he's the greatest to ever do it, man. Big tip of my hat to him, he's the best."

Indeed, Durant made four jumpers early in the third quarter, but he ultimately took only five shots in the second half. Booker finished with 18 points on 16 shots but he finished just 1-of-7 from the field when guarded by Jaden McDaniels, the Timberwolves' defensive specialist on the perimeter. Beal scored 15 points on 10 shots.

"This was probably their best game that we've seen," Beal said. "Respectfully so, it's one game."

The win marked an about-face for Minnesota, which lost all three regular-season contests to the Suns by double digits.

The most recent defeat came just days ago, on Sunday, when the Timberwolves fell by a nearly identical score -- 125-106 -- compared to what they posted Saturday.

"These guys came here and whooped us in our home court in the last game of the season and were giggling and laughing," Edwards recalled. "[Suns guard Bradley] Beal, he told our coach that he doesn't think we play hard enough -- and he was right. [Timberwolves head coach Chris] Finch didn't like that. He came in the next day and was like, 'Man, you've got guys on the other team telling me that y'all don't play hard enough for me.' And he was totally right.

"We [were] out there just running around letting them do what they want to do. That's a great team. All three of those guys, they're great players, man. It's going to be hard to beat these guys."

For the Timberwolves, Edwards starred but the team received well-rounded efforts from Towns (19 points, 7 rebounds), Gobert (14 points, 16 rebounds) and its bench, with Nickeil Alexander-Walker scoring 18 and Naz Reid adding 12 points.

Most impressively, the Timberwolves held decisive edges in rebounds (52 to 28), points in the paint (52 to 34) and second-chance points (20 to six).

"Our focus and our urgency was obviously at an all-time high," Gobert said. "I love how we respected the game plan all 48 minutes, from the first to the last. We tried to not let them get a hot start like they did the three other games and just do what we do."

BOSTON -- Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander sat out Game 1 of his club's first-round playoff series against the Boston Bruins on Saturday due to an undisclosed injury.

Nylander, who has not skated with the team since Thursday, did not take the ice for warmups at TD Garden. Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe has not revealed any details about Nylander's ailment which reportedly flared up after the Maple Leafs' regular-season finale on Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Nylander is coming off a career-best 98-point campaign and is a staple among Toronto's top six forwards. He's also on the Maple Leafs' No. 1 power-play unit.

While Keefe did not confirm Nylander's status earlier in the day, his teammates appeared resigned to playing without him.

"(It's) tough for him, but hopefully he won't miss too much, and he'll be back," defenseman Timothy Liljegren said. "(It's) hard to replace Willy. But we've had guys step up when guys go down all year, so it will be no different this time."

Nylander was the only Maple Leaf to dress in all 82 regular-season games, and hasn't missed a contest in three years.

With Nylander unavailable, Calle Jarnkrok is expected to slide into his power-play spot and Nick Robertson will step onto Toronto's third line. The 22-year-old figures to be an odd-man out when the Maple Leafs are at full strength, but he's earned a chance after appearing in 56 regular-season games, finishing with 27 points. Keefe, on Saturday, deemed "significant" progress even from a bottom-six position for Robertson.

"He works for everything he has," Keefe said. "He doesn't need many scoring opportunities."

Robertson's only other NHL playoff experience happened when he debuted with the Maple Leafs in the postseason bubble in 2020. There were no fans in attendance then, when Robertson scored his first-ever goal. Robertson didn't expect the atmosphere to be quite so docile when Toronto and Boston kicked things off on Saturday and was thrilled to potentially be taking part in it.

"It's everything," he said. "It's one of the things you'd see when you're a kid and you want to play in these environments. To be with the Leafs and play Boston in the first game? Nothing better than that."

Erik ten Hag has dismissed criticism of his performance as Manchester United manager, saying he has never had his first-choice team available to him since taking over in the summer of 2022.

Man United are preparing for Sunday's FA Cup semifinal against second-tier Coventry City knowing the competition represents the club's last chance of ending the season with a trophy. The 12-time FA Cup winners are languishing in seventh place in the Premier League, 13 points behind fourth-place Aston Villa and almost certainly out of the running for a place in next season's Champions League.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, NWSL more (U.S.)

"I don't have any concern [about what is said on the outside]," Ten Hag said at a news conference ahead of Sunday's clash at Wembley. "What concerns me is that in 18 months I have never had my favourite team on the pitch, that concerns me, because players are injured.

"One time, against City at home last season -- that is the only time I had a full squad where I can pick my team. In all the other games always there was an injury aspect we have to deal with. That is normal in football but not so many as we have had, and I know when you have so many injuries as we have had in crucial key positions you can't deliver the results you want to bring.

"That is my truth, others can have a different truth but I can't put energy in that."

Ten Hag is set to be without six first-team players at Wembley, though expects to have Antony and Scott McTominay back and is hopeful about the fitness of defender Harry Maguire.

But with an overhaul of the club's football operations underway following the confirmation of Sir Jim Ratcliffe's minority investment, there has been consistent speculation over Ten Hag's future.

On Friday, United confirmed the appointment of Jason Wilcox as technical director. The former Southampton director of football will report to the club's new sporting director, set to be Dan Ashworth. Ashworth is currently on gardening leave from Newcastle United but sources have told ESPN that an appointment will be made "in due course."

"I don't put energy into this, if I'm judged fairly or not," Ten Hag said.

"I know what we are doing here, I know why I am here -- to bring trophies and also to create economic value.

"So we are working on those and in the process you have setbacks. And I look at this and I can see it realistically. And I see the nuance and I miss that in the comments. But I can't bother about it, I can't go into emotions.

"I see it realistic, I see it rational and I am only focusing on my team, to improve my team, to improve the individuals and that's what I'm here for."

The Premier League title race has taken an attritional turn, and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will hope going top of the table can breathe new life into his team.

The Gunners secured a 2-0 win at Wolves on Saturday night but, despite the comfortable score line, it had "last man standing" feel by the end given the circumstances around it. Wolves were hampered by wretched injury list and Arsenal were running on empty this week after losing to Aston Villa and then succumbing to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

This was one of those occasions where the result was paramount: Arsenal simply had to win, no matter how, to reverse the feeling that their season was slipping away in a matter of days.

- Stream on ESPN+: FA Cup, LaLiga, Bundesliga & more (U.S.)
- Read on ESPN+: Why it's all falling apart for Liverpool

Goals from Leandro Trossard and Martin Odegaard ensured the Gunners ended a game they controlled for long periods with the points they deserved but this was a laboured, tired display -- perhaps inevitably so. Credit to the Gunners for finding a way because the grind is real right now.

Pep Guardiola spent the aftermath of Manchester City's FA Cup win over Chelsea at Wembley criticising the "unacceptable" scheduling of their game on a Saturday after a gruelling Champions League exit on Wednesday. Arsenal faced a similar turnaround -- without extra-time but with the additional travel in returning from Germany -- and Liverpool must cope with a Thursday-Sunday turnaround at Fulham in the next 24 hours.

"When you compete in European competition, every team has to compete in the same way," said Arteta. "You cannot have a team that hasn't played for seven days, or three days before and has more recovery time and then you have to play in the Premier League and the FA Cup. It is not right. If you look in any angle it's not right."

The Gunners opted to stay an extra night in Munich and stage a recovery session at their team hotel before flying back on Thursday afternoon.

"I think we had an hour or two hours of sleep," said Arteta. "Wake up, start to talk about Wolves, then about what the players need, how we're going to get the into the best mental and physical condition to win this game and to beat them.

"The boys were unbelievable, the staff was unbelievable. It's a joy to work with them. We realised that if you want to be in the big competitions fighting for the Champions League, fighting for the Premier League and the level that requires you have to do something special. You have to be something special and love to compete and expose yourself when it's needed to get the outcome that you want. I thought the boys did that really well today."

And things don't get any easier this week. The Gunners host Chelsea on Tuesday before next Sunday's north London derby at Tottenham, who will have had 15 days without a game. Arsenal will have played four games in that time.

Arteta's reluctance to rotate heavily is both a testament to the consistency of those he selects but also a contributing factor to the fatigue they exhibit on nights like this. The Spaniard made just three changes to his starting line-up from the Allianz Arena with Gabriel Jesus, Jakob Kiwior and Leandro Trossard coming in. Two of those players, Jesus and Trossard, ended the match in Munich.

"We thought about the possibilities and the way we had to manage the game in relation to the score, the state and what they were proposing," said Arteta. "We had many options to do that. The ones that played did well and the subs that we made made a huge impact that we wanted."

Whatever Arsenal's physical ailments, however, they paled into insignificance compared with Wolves.

Gary O'Neil claimed he had 10 outfield players capable of playing 90 minutes available to him -- "probably the worst situation we have been in," he said. Pedro Neto, Matheus Cunha, Craig Dawson, Nelson Semedo, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde were injured and Rayan Ait-Nouri was only able to play a late cameo here. Wes Okoduwa, 15, was named on the bench while Hee Chan Hwang did at least start but couldn't last longer than 51 minutes.

Arsenal always looked the more likely to score but approached the task bereft of their usual conviction and intensity. The sloppiness in their passing was mirrored by a carelessness in the rare moments of defending they were required to produce, Jakub Kiwior caught out badly on the half-hour mark as Joao Gomes snatched the ball away before firing in a shot David Raya did well to turn onto the post.

It was a night when Arsenal had to defend resolutely and trust that something positive would happen at the other end, summed up by Trossard swinging his right leg at the ball somewhat hopefully after good work in the box from Jesus. The Belgian was not in control of the shot but it found the top corner via a post, handing Arsenal a lead they rarely looked like relinquishing.

Wolves were palpably bereft of confidence, unable to play with any bravery through central midfield, shunning the forward pass for a safe sideways alternative and, according to O'Neil, suffering from "an unbelievable lack of attacking players," which reduced them to trying midfielder Mario Lemina at centre-forward late on.

Alt-Nouri showed how vulnerable Arsenal could be with a driving run that met little resistance until the end line but Wolves were simply too depleted to muster anything approaching a sustained spell of pressure. Arsenal ended with Odegaard's cute stoppage-time finish adding gloss to the scoreline and a sixth consecutive clean sheet away from home in the league, a club-record in the Premier League.

Although the travelling supporters sung about returning to the top of the table, there were no euphoric scenes involving Arteta and his players at the final whistle, no dressing-room selfies for which they have been much maligned in the past.

Perhaps they were too tired. Or, perhaps equally likely, they know the grind is far from over.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. -- Masters champion Scottie Scheffler was relentless as ever Saturday with another bogey-free round at the RBC Heritage, an 8-under 63 that gave him a 1-shot lead and left him one round from joining some rare company.

Not since Bernhard Langer in 1985 has a Masters champion won the following week on the PGA Tour at Harbour Town. The only other Masters champion to win the next week was Gary Player in 1978 at the Tournament of Champions.

And the last player to win a major and then win on the PGA Tour the following week was Tiger Woods in 2006 (PGA Championship, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational).

"I think when I'm playing my best, sometimes it feels like I'm competing against myself a little bit out there, trying to keep pushing and stay as focused as I can," said Scheffler, who has converted each of his past three outright 54-hole leads on tour.

"At the end of the day, we're out here competing against the best players in the world. I love competing against these guys, and I'm looking forward to the challenge of coming out and competing tomorrow."

Scheffler was at 16-under 197. Sepp Straka made a 15-foot birdie putt on the last hole for a 65 to get within 1 shot. They will be in the final group Sunday, with a different wind and thunderstorms in the forecast.

Two-time major champion Collin Morikawa made one mistake late, coming up short of the 16th green and missing a 10-foot par putt. He had a 68 and was 2 shots behind. Masters runner-up Ludvig Åberg was among those 3 shots back.

All of them are chasing the No. 1 player in the world amid a dominant stretch of golf not seen since Woods in his prime.

Scheffler has gone 51 consecutive holes at par or better at Harbour Town. He posted his 39th consecutive round at par or better dating to the Tour Championship last August.

"I think we all expect him to play well, and there's nothing I can do about it," Åberg said. "All I try to do is focus on myself and make sure that I hit the shots the way I want to and then see where that takes me."

Scheffler started 3 shots behind and already was tied for the lead with a tee shot to a pin at the back right corner of the 221-yard seventh hole, converting a 10-foot birdie.

Even the bad breaks led to birdies. On the reachable par-4 ninth, his drive stopped short of the bunker on a down slope of grass, leaving him a flop shot to a short pin with the green running away from him. All he could manage was a pitch to 35 feet. Scheffler rammed home the birdie putt and never really stopped until finishing with a 7-foot birdie on the 18th.

For a moment, it was setting up as a duel with Åberg, the rising Swedish star who has been a pro for 10 months and already is regarded as Scheffler's biggest threat because he never seems to miss. But he missed a drive on the 12th into the trees and made bogey to fall out of a share of the lead, and Åberg had to settle for pars the rest of the way.

The crowds were particularly large on the warm, sunny day, often lining the entire fairway two- and three-deep to watch golf's newest sensation. Scheffler has three wins and a runner-up finish in his past four tournaments.

The only player to beat him was Stephan Jaeger by 1 shot in the Houston Open -- Scheffler missed a 5-foot putt that would have forced a playoff. They played together for the first time since then, and Jaeger held his own with a 67.

Against Scheffler these days, that's just not enough.

"I think I've been very fortunate to have played with a lot of top players," said Straka, who played in his first Ryder Cup last fall in Rome. "I don't think anybody has been quite on the run that Scottie is on right now."

Scheffler wasn't entirely prepared for this week. Winning can be draining, even more when it involves a Masters green jacket. He flew home to Dallas on Sunday night, spent two days with his pregnant wife, managed nine holes of a pro-am at Harbour Town and here he is again.

Patrick Rodgers is the only player within 5 shots of Scheffler who has yet to win on the PGA Tour. The former Stanford star has felt his game was in a good place, and he was hopeful of getting another chance. And then he saw Scheffler's name starting to rise on the scoreboards as he was starting his round. Rodgers hung in there with a 68.

"It feels inevitable at this point," Rodgers said. "His ballstriking is incredible. For me to have a chance tomorrow, I'm going to have to play 18 great holes. And I'm looking forward to the challenge."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.