gap

It is a question that has quite possibly dominated the thoughts of Jose Mourinho since the day Manchester United relieved Chelsea of the Premiership title. Where can we improve to close the gap this time? What needs to be done to avoid a repeat?

The only man who truly knows where he stands with a racehorse is the one who gets too close to his hindlegs. This time three months ago, Peeping Fawn had just been beaten in a maiden race for the third time; and Dutch Art was scything down all the other horses marooned on the far rail in the 2,000 Guineas. But a weekend that measured them both against French champions served only to widen the gap between the fulfilment of one, and frustration of the other.

ART man closes gap to Glock in Hungary feature race.

Marcus Gronholm wins SS7 - but with Mikko Hirvonen only 0.4 seconds slower, the gap between P1 and P2 overall remains less than a second.

VX Racing ace survives double Safety Car period to secure win in race two to close championship gap.

Giovanardi eager to close gap after out-qualifying rival Plato at Snetterton.

Sligo Rovers will be hoping to close the gap on the top five in the eircom League of Ireland Premier Division when they host Shamrock Rovers this evening.

Aussie veteran powerless to prevent championship gap from widening.

When Sergio Garcia trotted urgently off the third tee on his way to a portable convenience yesterday, he shot the briefest of sideways glances at the big man waiting with apparent insouciance to putt on the adjacent fifth green: Ernie Els. An accompanying glance at the scoreboard would have told him that Els had narrowed the gap between them by two shots, possibly rendering the Spaniard's comfort break just a little less comfortable than it might otherwise have been.

Fernando Alonso closed the gap on Lewis Hamilton to two points in the battle for the world title after taking victory in a stunning European Grand Prix.