Carlos Tevez hit a hat-trick as Manchester City crushed Norwich 6-1 at Carrow Road on Saturday to pile the pressure on Premier League leaders Manchester United.

Roberto Mancini's side moved within two points of title rivals United thanks to a treble from Argentina forward Tevez, two goals from Sergio Aguero, and an Adam Johnson strike.

Nico Rosberg of Mercedes stormed to a career-first pole position for Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, edging out McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and the fellow Mercedes of Michael Schumacher.

His emphatic performance was Rosberg's first pole after 110 previous attempts, his lap of 1min 35.121sec well clear of Hamilton's 1:35.626. The Briton will be seventh on the grid after a penalty for changing his gearbox.

From the sand dunes of the Rub al-Khali desert to the snow-capped peaks of the Dolomites in northern Italy, Emirati teen Zahra Lari made figure skating history this week.

The 17-year-old not only became the first figure skater from the Gulf to compete in an international competition, but the first to do so wearing the hijab, an Islamic headscarf.

Rafael Nadal begins his bid for an unprecedented eighth straight Monte Carlo Masters title plagued by new fears over his physical condition.

The Spaniard takes to the European clay for the first time this year having spent the past fortnight trying to heal his latest knee problems after failing to front up for his Miami hardcourt semifinal against Andy Murray.

Villarreal's Italian international striker Giuseppe Rossi will miss Euro 2012 after suffering a setback in his recovery from a knee injury on Friday that is likely to keep him out for a further six months.

"Giuseppe Rossi suffered a relapse of his right knee injury during training this morning (Friday), which will unfortunately make him unavailable for six months," Villarreal announced.

Eric Abidal's recovery is "on track" following his liver transplant earlier this week, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola revealed on Friday.

The France international defender, 32, underwent the operation on Tuesday, just over a year after having a tumor removed from his liver in March 2011.

London Olympics organizers said Saturday they were taking "extremely seriously" allegations of "sweatshop" conditions for Indonesian workers producing outfits for British athletes and Games volunteers.

The Independent newspaper alleged that the clothing being made for the London 2012 Olympics was "being manufactured for Adidas in sweatshop conditions in Indonesia, making a mockery of claims by London 2012 organizers that this summer's Games will be the most ethical ever".

The Bahrain Grand Prix will go ahead next week as planned, Formula One bosses declared on Friday, despite fears it could be targeted by violent anti-government demonstrations.

The sport's governing body, the FIA (Federation Internationale de l'Automobile), and commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone made separate announcements in Shanghai, venue of the Chinese Grand Prix.

Just months after joining the team, striker Nicolas Anelka has been appointed as a coach with struggling Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua.

The club has won just one of its first five games in the Chinese Super League, a disappointing start after signing the former Real Madrid and Chelsea star on a contract that reportedly made him the highest-paid player in the world.

Michael Schumacher may be closing in on his first pole position in six years after setting the fastest practice time at the Chinese Grand Prix on Friday.

The Mercedes driver's time was a tenth of a second faster than McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, who took back-to-back poles to start the season at the Australian GP and Malaysian GP.