Max Verstappen won for the second time in four races and the four-time reigning Formula 1 champion continued to claw his way back into title picture with a Saturday night victory at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
It is the second time in three years the Dutchman has won on the streets of Las Vegas that utilizes a part of the famed Strip. He won the inaugural race in 2023 and clinched his fourth consecutive title here last year.
Now he has another win at an event he despised ahead of its debut because of the bright spotlight promoters placed on celebrities and parties instead of the actual competition. But when it comes time to get in the car, no matter how Verstappen feels about the event, he seems to excel.
Verstappen started second but took control of the race in the very first turn when current points leader Lando Norris made an aggressive move to cut in front of him at the start but wound up sliding wide of the turn in his McLaren. Verstappen moved to the lead and George Russell darted past Norris into second.
Norris found himself stuck back in third, and teammate Oscar Piastri fared no better as the Australian lost two spots on the start to drop from fifth to seventh. The two McLaren drivers have swapped the lead in the driver standings all season and Norris held a 24-point lead over Piastri at the start, while Verstappen was 49 points back.
Norris finished second and Russell was third, and with two races remaining on the year Norris’ lead is 30 points over Piastri and Verstappen trimmed his deficit to 42 points.
Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes crossed the finish line in fourth but a penalty dropped him a spot to fifth, which moved Piastri to fourth.
The biggest mover of the race was seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who qualified 20th in Ferrari’s first last-place qualifying result since 2009. He actually started 19th and immediately gained six spots. Hamilton steadily picked his way through the field and finished 10th.
For Verstappen, it was his eighth consecutive podium and he beat Norris by nearly 20 seconds. (JapanToday)
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a stoppage-time bicycle kick to cap Al Nassr’s 4–1 victory over Al Khaleej in their Saudi Pro League clash on Sunday night at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Al Nassr dominated early, with Joao Felix at the heart of the action. After two disallowed goals, the Portuguese forward finally broke the deadlock in the 39th minute, finishing a low cross into the bottom right corner.
Three minutes later, Felix won possession high up the pitch and set up Wesley, who curled a superb shot into the top corner to give the hosts a 2–0 lead at half-time.
Al Khaleej started the second half brightly and halved the deficit in the 47th minute through Hawsawi, who rifled a powerful strike into the top corner.
But Al Nassr regained control as the game wore on.
Sadio Mané restored the two-goal lead in the 77th minute, reacting quickest to a loose ball to curl home a fine first-time finish.
The visitors’ hopes of a comeback faded further when Kourbeli was shown a straight red card for stamping on Al Hassan’s foot in the 90th minute.
Ronaldo, who had earlier been denied several times by goalkeeper Moris and had a goal ruled out for offside, finally got his moment in added time.
In the 90+6 minute, he connected acrobatically with a floating cross from Boushal, sending a bicycle kick past Moris to seal the victory.
The 40-year-old records his 954th career goal and has now scored ten goals in nine league appearances this season.
The win extends Al Nassr’s push for a ninth straight victory as they continue their strong run in the Saudi Pro League with 27 points. (Punch)
Troubled Liverpool’s woeful season hit a new low with a shocking 3-0 home defeat against Nottingham Forest, while Newcastle dented Manchester City’s Premier League title challenge as Harvey Barnes’ brace sealed a controversial 2-1 victory on Saturday.
The spluttering champions fell behind in the 33rd minute when Murillo’s fierce strike punished their failure to deal with Elliot Anderson’s corner.
Reds boss Arne Slot was fuming that the goal was allowed despite Forest’s Dan Ndoye appearing to obstruct Liverpool keeper Alisson Becker — an offense that led Virgil van Dijk’s equaliser to be disallowed in the 3-0 loss at Manchester City before the international break.
Sean Dyche’s side doubled their lead after 46 minutes when Nicolo Savona slotted home from Neco Williams’ cut-back.
With Liverpool’s defense in disarray, Morgan Gibbs-White scored Forest’s third from the rebound after Omari Hutchinson’s shot was saved in the 78th minute.
Beaten by Forest at Anfield for a second successive season, Liverpool have lost eight of their last 11 games in all competitions, including six of their last seven in the top flight.
It is the first time Liverpool have lost consecutive league games by a three-goal margin since 1965.
Once again Liverpool were devoid of inspiration and energy in another lethargic display that left them languishing in 11th place, eight points behind leaders Arsenal.
Liverpool’s stunning decline comes after a summer spending spree of over £400 million ($523 million).
Alexander Isak was hauled off in the second half of his fourth league start for Liverpool following a British record move from Newcastle that has failed to live up to the hype.
Sweden striker Isak has yet to score for the Reds in the top flight.
“Another big disappointment. We started off quite well but we conceded the 1-0 and weren’t able to play the way we did in the first half hour,” Slot said.
“If things go well or things go bad, it’s my responsibility. We weren’t able to create enough. I tried to adjust a few things, but it didn’t work out. We are in a very bad spell.”
At St James’ Park, Manchester City trailed to Barnes’ 63rd-minute drive from the edge of the area before Ruben Dias equalised with a deflected strike five minutes later.
Two minutes after Dias leveled, Barnes bagged Newcastle’s contentious second goal with a fierce volley, which was allowed to stand after a lengthy VAR check for a potential offside against Bruno Guimaraes, whose header had cannoned back off the bar.
Guardiola was also aggrieved over a rejected first-half penalty claim by Phil Foden.
City’s fourth league defeat this season left them in third place, four points behind Arsenal, who host Tottenham on Sunday.
Guardiola stormed onto the pitch at full-time to confront referee Sam Barrott, but later insisted “everything is fine” when asked about the incident.
“It happened in the Bournemouth game and it happened today again. It is what it is after VAR decided. They know perfectly,” he said of Newcastle’s second goal.
“It was entertaining game, we both had chances and then there was a momentum shift and ultimately we couldn’t win.”
Chelsea moved up to second place with a 2-0 win at Burnley.
Pedro Neto’s diving header put Chelsea ahead just before the interval and Enzo Fernandez netted in the closing stages.
Enzo Maresca’s side, who sit three points behind Arsenal, have won eight of their last 10 matches in all competitions, making it a memorable 50th Premier League game in charge for the Italian.
It was the ideal warm-up for Chelsea ahead of a crucial week featuring home games against Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday and Arsenal in the Premier League on November 30.
New Wolves manager Rob Edwards suffered a 2-0 debut defeat against fourth-placed Crystal Palace at Molineux.
Brighton came from behind to defeat Brentford 2-1 at the Amex Stadium.
Raul Jimenez’s 84th-minute goal gave Fulham a 1-0 victory against Sunderland at Craven Cottage.
West Ham blew a two-goal lead in their 2-2 draw at Bournemouth. (JapanToday)
Belgium reached the semifinals of the Davis Cup after winning both singles matches against France in Bologna, where fans have been denied star power following injured Carlos Alcaraz’s late withdrawal.
Raphael Collignon and Zizou Bergs came through respective singles clashes against Corentin Moutet and Arthur Rinderknech to set up a potential clash in the last four with holders and hosts Italy.
Collignon came back from a set down to beat world number 35 Moutet 2-6, 7-5, 7-5, while Bergs saw off Rinderknech, France’s highest ranked player at 29 in the world, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).
The two wins for Belgium mean that the scheduled doubles match featuring Belgium’s Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen against Benjamin Bonzi and Pierre-Hugues Herbert will not be played.
Italy will be favored to face Belgium in the semifinals ahead of Wednesday’s match against Austria in front of a passionate crowd in northern Italy.
The Azzurri will be without stars Jannik Sinner — recent winner of the ATP Finals — and Lorenzo Musetti, who were key to the 2023 and 2024 Davis Cup triumphs for the Mediterranean nation.
Both players sit in the top 10 of the men’s single rankings and their absence makes Italy’s match with Austria more difficult to call.
There was more bad news for the tournament as world number one Alcaraz also pulled out of the tournament on Wednesday morning with a hamstring injury suffered against Sinner in their ATP Finals showdown on Sunday night.
The six-time Grand Slam champion said in the aftermath of that defeat that his hamstring hadn’t affected him, even though it was strapped up during a medical time out.
But he has dropped out of the tournament two days before Spain’s quarterfinal with Czech Republic, leaving the beleaguered event without the hoped-for stardust.
The highest ranked player at the Davis Cup finals is former Olympic champion Alexander Zverev, ranked three in the world.
But the German, whose country faces Argentina on Thursday, recently blasted the current format, calling it “an exhibition tournament”.
He wasn’t the only one to criticize the tournament, with Sinner saying during the ATP Finals that he “never unfortunately played the Davis Cup, the real Davis Cup”, and suggested each edition be played over two years.
Ross Hutchins, the head of the International Tennis Federation which organizes the Davis Cup, insisted that the absences of three headline players were “three specific cases” and not a sign of the tournament being snubbed by the sport’s stars.
Hutchins cited Musetti saying that the imminent birth of his second child played a part in his decision, but the world number eight said last week that the physical and emotional stress of a long season was the main reason for his withdrawal.
Sinner dropped out in order to get an extra week of close-season rest after completing a complicated campaign by retaining the ATP Finals. (JapanToday)
Curaçao will be playing in the World Cup for the first time. Coach Dick Advocaat’s team drew against Jamaica, securing their historic spot. Suriname was relegated to the play-offs after a defeat against Guatemala.
Curaçao knew that it only needed to draw against Jamaica to secure a historic World Cup spot and miraculously achieved this feat in the Jamaican capital of Kingston, NU.nl reports. Jamaica hit the post and crossbar no fewer than three times after halftime. In stoppage time, the home team was awarded a penalty. But after VAR intervention, the referee overturned the decision, and Curaçao secured a draw.
The Curaçao players, staff, and fans went wild when the final whistle blew. With a population of only 150,000, Curaçao will be the smallest ever participant in the World Cup next year. And at 78, Advocaat will become the oldest national coach ever at a World Cup.
Over a hundred Curaçaoans in the Netherlands followed the early morning match at an event at De Mansion in Dordrecht. “It was a close call, and we didn’t want to celebrate too soon, but we are incredibly happy to be going to the World Cup,” fan Edson Rafael told ANP.
Suriname did not have the fairy tale ending it was hoping for, but its World Cup dream is still alive. Coach Stanely Menzo’s team has been relegated to the play-offs after losing 3-1 to Guatemala.
Menzo’s team got through the first half pretty well. But Suriname fell almost immediately after the break as Guatemala scored its second and third goals. At this point, Suriname was also in danger of missing its spot in the play-offs based on goal difference. But in the 93rd minute, Suriname came to 3-1 thanks to an own Goal by a Guatemala defender.
That goal secured Suriname’s place in the play-offs, miraculously keeping their World Cup dream alive. (NLTimes)
Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand in January to instead play for Japan in the United Cup.
The four-time major winner had agreed in September to start her 2026 season in Auckland, where she reached the final earlier this year.
She contacted Auckland tournament director Nicolas Lamperin to say she had changed her mind and would instead begin her preparation for the Australian Open in Australia.
Former No. 1-ranked Osaka will combine with Shintaro Mochizuki in the Japan team for the Jan 2-11 United Cup in Perth. Japan is drawn to play Britain and Greece in group play.
The Australian Open, the first tennis Grand Slam event of the year, starts Jan 18 at Melbourne Park. (JapanToday)
YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul will fight recent world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in a professional bout on Dec 19.
The heavyweight bout, which will consist of eight three-minute rounds, will take place at Kaseya Center in Miami and will be streamed live on Netflix.
It will be the toughest fight yet for the 28-year-old Paul, who has a 12-1 record (7 KOs) and last fought in June when he beat former middleweight champion Julio César Chávez Jr. by unanimous decision.
“This isn’t an AI simulation. This is Judgment Day,” Paul told Netflix. “A professional heavyweight fight against an elite world champion in his prime.
“When I beat Anthony Joshua, every doubt disappears, and no one can deny me the opportunity to fight for a world title. To all my haters, this is what you wanted.”
Joshua is a two-time world champion and Olympic gold medallist, but the 36-year-old hasn’t fought since losing to Daniel Dubois in an IBF title fight in September 2024.
“Jake or anyone can get this work,” Joshua said. “No mercy. I took some time out and I’m coming back with a mega show. It’s a big opportunity for me.
“Whether you like it or not, I’m here to do massive numbers, have big fights and break every record whilst keeping cool, calm and collected … I’m about to break the internet over Jake Paul’s face.” (JapanToday)
Injury-time wonder-goals by Kieran Tierney and Kenny McLean handed Scotland a stunning 4-2 win over Denmark on Tuesday to qualify them for the 2026 World Cup, while Spain also booked their ticket with a 2-2 draw against Turkey.
Belgium thumped Liechtenstein 7-0 to reach next year’s tournament as Switzerland and Austria ground out draws to secure their places in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Scotland’s late show in Glasgow means Steve Clarke’s side have qualified for the global footballing showpiece for the first time since 1998.
Level at 2-2 as the clock ticked past 90, Denmark were set to advance to the World Cup as Group C winners until Tierney curled in an exquisite finish from distance three minutes into injury time.
McLean then put the match beyond doubt as he lifted the ball over Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who was well off his line, from the halfway line on 98 minutes.
“That just sums up this squad,” captain Andy Robertson told the BBC. “Never say die. We just keep going right to the end and one of the craziest games.
“We put the country through it, but I’m sure it’s worth it. We’re going to the World Cup.”
Earlier, Napoli midfielder Scott McTominay had given the hosts a third-minute lead with a towering overhead kick.
McTominay’s clubmate Rasmus Hojlund leveled for Denmark from the spot just shy of the hour, before his side went down to 10 as Rasmus Kristensen picked up a second booking.
An anxious Hampden Park let out a roar of ecstasy and relief in the 78th minute as Lawrence Shankland turned in from close range.
But Denmark struck back again through Patrick Dorgu four minutes later before Tierney and McLean stole the headlines.
Denmark will now be in Thursday’s draw for the European play-offs, which will take place next March.
Switzerland will appear in a sixth successive World Cup finals after drawing 1-1 in Pristina against Kosovo.
With the Swiss needing to avoid a defeat by six goals to seal top spot, they rarely looked troubled as Ruben Vargas handed them the lead in the 47th minute before Florent Muslija equalised.
Euro 2024 winners Spain found themselves in a similar situation in Seville against Turkey but also never looked like going down to the seven-goal loss that would have sent the visitors through in their place.
Dani Olmo fired Spain ahead but Deniz Gul and Salih Ozcan struck for Turkey as the hosts conceded their first goals in the qualification process.
But Mikel Oyarzabal hit back after the hour to extend Spain’s unbeaten run.
“We wanted to finish with a win and a clean sheet, so it’s bitter-sweet… but we’re happy to qualify for the World Cup,” Olmo told TVE.
Michael Gregoritsch bundled home a 77th-minute leveller to snatch a 1-1 draw for Austria against Bosnia and Herzegovina, which sealed Ralf Rangnick’s team a first World Cup appearance in 28 years.
“I can’t believe it; we made it! I have been trying to reach the World Cup for 18 years. Finally now, at the end of my career, we got there. I can’t wait,” 36-year-old Austrian forward Marko Arnautovic said, according to UEFA.com.
Haris Tabakovic’s early strike had looked as if it might be enough for the visitors to snatch first place from under Austria’s noses until Gregoritsch condemned Bosnia to the play-offs.
Belgium, semi-finalists in 2018, cruised into the draw for the World Cup with a Jeremy Doku-inspired hammering of Liechtenstein.
The Manchester City winger grabbed a brace in Liege as Charles De Ketelaere also netted twice and Hans Vanaken, Brandon Mechele and Alexis Saelemaekers completed the rout.
In Group J’s other match, second-placed Wales also ran up seven goals as they beat North Macedonia 7-1 with Harry Wilson scoring a hat-trick of set-piece goals.
North Macedonia can, nonetheless, look forward to a play-off place courtesy of their Nations League performance.
Romania, who beat San Marino by the same scoreline, will also have the chance to reach the World Cup thanks to the Nations League after finishing third in Group H.
Sweden, who picked up just their second point of the qualifying campaign with a 1-1 home draw against Slovenia, advanced in the same manner.
The 16-team European play-offs will allow an additional four teams from the continent to make it to North America next year. (JapanToday)
Victor Osimhen scored twice as the Super Eagles sealed an emphatic 4-1 victory over the Panthers of Gabon in extra time to advance to the next playoff stage of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers on Thursday at Stade Mohammed V in Rabat, Morocco.
After a goalless first half, Akor Adams broke the deadlock early in the second half, capitalising on a player’s error to put Nigeria ahead.
Gabon, however, equalised four minutes before the end of the match, forcing the game into extra time.
Chidera Ejuke restored Nigeria’s lead with a composed finish before Osimhen extended the advantage, netting twice to put the result beyond doubt.
The Super Eagles’ solid defensive display, led by Benjamin Frederick and Calvin Bassey, ensured Gabon’s late efforts came to nothing.
The win moves Nigeria closer to securing a spot at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the final playoff round set to determine their qualification status.
Nigeria secured a spot among the top runners-up in the African qualifiers, buoyed by a dominant 4-0 win over the Benin Republic that saw Victor Osimhen net a remarkable hat-trick.
Gabon, meanwhile, finished second in Group F behind the Ivory Coast to earn their own playoff place.
Nigeria will go on to face either Cameroon or the Democratic Republic of Congo on November 16, with the victor of that tie advancing to the inter-continental playoff for a chance at a World Cup berth. (Punch)
In his 1,000th game as a manager, Pep Guardiola celebrated victory as if it was his first.
Manchester City’s 3-0 triumph over Liverpool on Sunday was win No. 716 for Guardiola and likely one of the most satisfying of his trophy-laden career.
Not only did City totally dominate the defending Premier League champion and one of Guardiola’s fiercest rivals in a career spanning Spain, Germany and England – but the result firmly established his team as a genuine contender for the title this season.
“Thank you to the players and staff for giving me that incredible present (against) the most important opponent in my time here by far,” the City manager said afterward.
City moved up to second in the standings – just four points behind leader Arsenal, with a well-established record when it comes to chasing down Mikel Arteta’s team. It happened in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024 and City’s momentum has an ominous feel about it after taking advantage of Arsenal’s surprise 2-2 draw with Sunderland on Saturday.
“In October, November, you don’t win the Premier League. Teams that win the Premier League (are the ones) where everyone in the team is growing. When it grows and grows, you arrive at the end fighting for the title,” Guardiola said. “I have the feeling that we are in that way.”
By contrast, Liverpool, which was the runaway champion just six months ago, is slipping further adrift.
This was a fifth loss in six games after spending more than $400 million in the offseason. The Merseyside club is down to eighth in the standings and eight points off the top.
No wonder Arne, who was mocked by City fans chanting he would be fired in the morning, was in no mood to talk about the title.
“Last season when we were eight points clear it never felt like it was won already,” he said. “At this period of time, as Liverpool manager, I shouldn’t be talking about the top position because our performance needs to be better.”
There is no suggestion that Slot’s position is under any threat, but Liverpool’s form will be a source of concern. So complete was City’s superiority that Liverpool’s morale-boosting win against Real Madrid in the week was put into perspective.
A 3-0 win could easily have been bigger, with Erling Haaland seeing a 13th-minute penalty saved before he headed City in front in the 29th.
Nico Gonzalez doubled the lead when his shot deflected off Virgil van Dijk in first-half stoppage time.
Player of the match Jeremy Doku had tormented Liverpool throughout and he got a deserved goal in the 63rd when whipping in a curled effort from outside the box.
Newcastle fell to back-to-back defeats in the Premier League, losing 3-1 at Brentford.
Having lost to West Ham by the same score a week earlier, Eddie Howe’s team once again took an early lead only to squander the points.
Harvey Barnes fired the visitors ahead at the Gtech Community Stadium, but Newcastle was stunned by a second-half fightback from Brentford and ended the match with 10 men after Dan Burn was sent off.
Kevin Schade leveled in the 56th, following Barnes’ goal in the 27th.
Burn was sent off when bringing down Dango Ouattara in the box and Igor Thiago converted from the spot.
Thiago got his second in stoppage time to seal the win, which left Newcastle 14th in the standings and just two points above the relegation zone.
Sean Dyche got his first league win as Nottingham Forest coach after his team rallied to beat Leeds 3-1 at the City Ground.
Victory came after last week’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United and moved second-from-bottom Forest to within a point of safety.
Lukas Nmecha put Leeds ahead in the 13th minute, but Ibrahim Sangare equalized two minutes later. Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson – from the penalty spot – completed the comeback after the break.
Aston Villa quickly bounced back from defeat to Liverpool last week by routing Bournemouth 4-0.
Villa endured a desperate start to the season – failing to win any of its first six games in all competitions. But Unai Emery’s team has powered back impressively by winning eight of its last 10.
Emiliano Buendia, Amadou Onana, Ross Barkley and Donyell Malen all scored, while goalkeeper Emi Martinez denied Antoine Semenyo from the spot as Villa moved up to sixth in the standings.
Crystal Palace and Brighton drew 0-0 at Selhurst Park. (JapanToday)
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