BRIEFS: McIlroy leads Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP):

Rory McIlroy is clinging to the Masters lead at the turn in the third round. The 21-year-old from Northern Ireland was far from spectacular yesterday - a birdie at the fourth, a bogey at the fifth - but an even-par 36 on the front side was good enough to keep a two-shot lead at 10 under.

His playing partner in the final group, Masters rookie Jason Day of Australia, briefly claimed the top spot with birdies on three of the first five holes to get to 11 under. But a three-putt at the par-3 sixth gave him his first bogey since Thursday. Another at the seventh cost him the lead.

Day and K.J. Choi are one shot back.

Tiger Woods is struggling. He took a pair of bogeys and made the turn with a 37, four shots off the lead.

Barcelona rally

BARCELONA, Spain (AP):

Lionel Messi scored twice to tie his career best of 47 goals in a season and Barcelona rallied for a 3-1 victory over last-place Almeria in the Spanish league. Barcelona maintained their eight-point advantage over second-place Real Madrid, which beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0.

Almeria took the lead in the 50th when Miguel 'Corona' Garcia scored on a counter-attack. Messi tied it on a penalty kick three minutes later and in the 64th served a corner kick for Thiago Alcantara to head in. Messi added his league-best 29th goal - one more than Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo - in injury time. Messi's 47 goals in all competitions this season matched the Barcelona record, set by Ronaldo in 1996-97 and equalled by Messi last season.

Madrid's Angel Di Maria earned two penalty kicks that Kaka converted in the 14th and 54th minutes. Ronaldo entered as a second-half substitute and scored in the 70th minute.

Inter rebound

MILAN (AP):

Inter Milan bounced back from two setbacks to beat Chievo Verona 2-0 in Serie A behind second-half goals from Esteban Cambiasso and Maicon. Inter were coming off a 3-0 loss to AC Milan and a 5-2 home defeat by Schalke in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.

Inter didn't break through until Cambiasso took a pass from Maicon in the 65th minute and watched as his shot deflected first off a defender and then off the crossbar before going in.