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McLaren’s botched strategy call helps Verstappen win Qatar GP as F1 title fight goes to final race

One week after losing all their points from the Las Vegas Grand Prix, McLaren threw away a bunch more in an increasingly tense Formula 1 title race by botching a strategy call at the Qatar GP on Sunday.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took full advantage of the unexpected gift to clinch a seventh win this season — his 70th overall — as he closed the gap on championship leader Lando Norris from 24 points at the start of the weekend to 12 points, heading into next Sunday’s title decider in Abu Dhabi.

McLaren still has two drivers in contention, with Oscar Piastri four points behind Verstappen in third, but must stop the slide.

Last Sunday, the two drivers lost a combined 30 points after both were disqualified following the race, won by Verstappen.

At the Qatar GP, Norris would have clinched his first F1 title with a win but finished fourth, with Piastri placing second having started from pole position and looking assured.

But after an early safety car, McLaren’s decision to keep both drivers out backfired badly as Verstappen effectively benefited from a free tire change in a mandatory two-stop race.

“It’s tough, we just have to have faith in the team to make the right decision,” Norris told broadcaster Sky Sports. ”Now it’s the wrong decision, we shouldn’t have done it (and) we didn’t do a good job today.”

Norris leads with 408 points, Verstappen has 396 and Piastri 392. All three title contenders have won seven races. Verstappen is aiming for a fifth straight F1 crown, with Piastri chasing a first title. Norris will become the first British driver to win the championship since Lewis Hamilton clinched his seventh title in 2020 if he finishes at least third in Abu Dhabi even if Verstappen wins the race.

Although Verstappen overtook Norris heading into Turn 1, Piastri made a clean start and took a comfortable lead early on.

Piastri also said McLaren made an error by staying out following the safety car, which came out after Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber was sent spinning off the track on Lap 7 after being clipped by Alpine driver Pierre Gasly.

“Speechless. I don’t know any words,” Piastri said. “It is a little bit tough to swallow at the moment.”

Later, the Australian added: “Clearly we didn’t get it right” and said there would be discussions.

The decision played into Verstappen’s hands and the elated Dutchman climbed out of his car and jumped into the arms of his mechanics and engineers after winning.

“This was an incredible race for us, we made the right call as a team to box under that safety car,” Verstappen said. “Super happy to win here, we stayed in the fight until the end. Incredible.”

The decision to stay out was even more questionable in a race where drivers had to take two pit stops over the 57 laps — a measure imposed on safety grounds due to a high risk of tire degradation at the Lusail International Circuit.

Gambling on holding track position left McLaren at risk later on, unless there was another safety car.

“It wasn’t the correct decision,” McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said.

Because drivers were restricted to a maximum of 25 laps on the Pirelli tires, those who pitted had to change again on Lap 32.

After the McLarens made their first tire changes, Norris was in fifth place behind Piastri in fourth. That left Verstappen out in front and with several laps to build his lead.

McLaren pitted Piastri again on Lap 43 and Norris soon after, but when Norris came back out on Lap 45 he was fifth with Antonelli and Sainz barring his way.

Norris overtook Antonelli right at the end but could not catch Sainz, who finished third.

George Russell was sixth for Mercedes, with Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) and Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) completing the top 10.

Hamilton’s dismal run for Ferrari continued with a 12th-placed finish. Aside from clinching a sprint race in China in March, the 40-year-old has not been on the podium all season.

Desert battles seem to suit Verstappen, who clinched a third straight win in Qatar and has won four of the last five races in Abu Dhabi. Norris may take hope from the fact he won there last year.

But the McLarens head to Abu Dhabi with a hard-charging Verstappen looking to repeat history by clinching a championship in the last race at Abu Dhabi, having done so when he overtook Hamilton on the final lap after a controversial finish in 2021.

“It’s possible now but we will see,” said Verstappen, who had written off his chances earlier this season. “I don’t really worry about it too much.” (JapanToday)

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Arsenal held by 10-man Chelsea; Isak sets up much-needed Liverpool win and Man United beats Palace

Mikel Merino salvaged a 1-1 draw for Arsenal at 10-man Chelsea as the race for the Premier League title tightened on Sunday.

Arsenal is five points clear of second-placed Manchester City, with Chelsea a point further back in third.

Mikel Arteta’s team was boosted late in the first half at Stamford Bridge when Moises Caicedo was sent off for a dangerous challenge on Merino. But despite being a man down Chelsea went ahead in the 48th minute through Trevoh Chalobah’s header.

Merino equalized in the 59th, but Arsenal couldn’t make its numerical advantage count and dropped points away from home for the second time in successive matches.

Arsenal beat Bayern Munich midweek in the Champions League and Arteta said it had been a positive week though accepted “we should’ve won the game (Sunday), and we haven’t. That’s a learning point for me.”

The result meant Man City was the big winner of the weekend, following Saturday’s late victory against Leeds, which saw Pep Guardiola’s team climb above Chelsea to second in the standings.

“I think that we showed that we are in the right direction,” Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca told Sky Sports. “We were a much, much better team than them when we were 11 v. 11. Then with 10 players it’s more difficult, but the way they dealt with that situation was outstanding.”

Liverpool got back to winning ways — beating West Ham 2-0 — and Manchester United rallied to a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace.

Aston Villa is fourth after a 1-0 win against last-placed Wolverhampton, and fifth-placed Brighton won 2-0 at Nottingham Forest.

Alexander Isak scored his first Premier League goal for Liverpool to set up a much-needed win for Arne Slot’s team.

On a day when Mohamed Salah was dropped to the bench, British record signing Isak opened the scoring at the London Stadium. Cody Gakpo got the second for Liverpool, which went into the match on a run of six losses in its last seven league games.

“I am aware that it has been a long time coming and I’ve been trying to get back to my best form,” Isak told Sky Sports. “I am still on the way but I am happy to have that goal.”

Isak, a $170 million signing from Newcastle in the summer, had not scored in his five league games for his new club and only had one goal in 10 games in all. But in the absence of Salah, the Sweden international converted with a first-time effort in the box after 60 minutes to open his Premier League account for the season.

Slot’s bold call to leave out the iconic Salah paid off after the Egypt international’s unconvincing form this season. Slot shook up his attack, with Florian Wirtz and Gakpo alongside Isak.

Isak’s clinical finish into the bottom corner put Liverpool in control and West Ham’s chances were dealt another blow when Lucas Paqueta was sent off in the 84th.

Gakpo converted in the second minute of added time to put the game beyond doubt.

“We have to use this win in a good way, but also be humble because we’ve had a tough time, so one win doesn’t necessarily mean we’re back,” said Isak.

Joshua Zirkzee ended a scoring drought of his own with his first league goal in almost a year.

The Dutch striker hadn’t scored in England’s top flight since a double against Everton on Dec. 1 last year, but ended that streak with a stunning strike at Selhurst Park.

A moment of individual brilliance fired United back into the game in the 54th after Jean-Philippe Mateta put Palace ahead from the penalty spot in the first half.

Collecting the ball in the box, Zirkzee spun and scored from a tight angle for only his eighth goal since joining United from Bologna last year and his first this season.

“Scoring is important but it’s not just the goals,” United coach Ruben Amorim said. “They give confidence but Joshua has also improved a lot in how he holds the ball. That should give him a lot of confidence.”

Mason Mount struck the winner from the edge of the box in the 63rd as United ended Palace’s 12-game unbeaten home run in the league.

Mateta had given Palace the lead with a twice-taken penalty in the 36th. The France international was adjudged to have double-kicked his original spot kick and was directed to retake as per the rule clarification that came in after Julian Alvarez’s accidental double touch in a shootout against Real Madrid last season helped to eliminate Atletico Madrid from the Champions League.

Villa’s Boubacar Kamara scored the only goal of the match to settle the Midlands derby against Wolves.

Wolves remains winless at the bottom of the table and nine points from safety.

Goals from Maxim De Cuyper and Stefanos Tzimas earned fifth-placed Brighton victory at Forest. (JapanToday)

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Chelsea dominates Barca in Champions League; Man City loses

Chelsea romped to a dominant 3-0 win at home to 10-man Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday, while Pep Guardiola’s much-changed Manchester City went down to their first defeat of the campaign against Bayer Leverkusen.

In a battle between the second-placed sides in the Premier League and La Liga, Chelsea emerged emphatic winners thanks to goals from 18-year-old Estevao and Liam Delap after a Jules Kounde own-goal had given the 2021 Champions League winners a first-half lead.

The visitors played just over half the encounter a player down following captain Ronald Araujo’s dismissal for two bookable offences on the stroke of half-time.

After stalling last time out — Chelsea being held 2-2 by Qarabag and Barca drawing three-apiece with Club Brugge — both sides came into the match at Stamford Bridge looking to get their campaigns back on track.

Victory propelled Chelsea to fifth in the league phase standings on 10 points.

“It’s a big win, especially because the other team was Barcelona,” Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said.

After two Enzo Fernandez strikes were disallowed for offside, the hosts finally took the lead on 27 minutes.

A short-corner routine ended with Marc Cucurella firing the ball across the box. Pedro Neto’s attempted flick towards goal had the Barcelona defenders tying themselves in knots before France international Kounde inadvertently knocked it into his own net.

The game took a decisive turn in the 44th minute when Araujo received a second yellow card for a poor challenge on Cucurella.

Much of the pre-match build-up centred on talk around the young starlets on both sides, but it was Chelsea’s Estevao who stole the show over Barcelona’s Spain winger Lamine Yamal.

A moment of magic by the Brazilian teen put the game beyond the Spanish champions as he received the ball on the right before beating two defenders and lashing it into the roof of Joan Garcia’s net five minutes before the hour.

“I don’t really have any words to sum up how I’m feeling right now,” Estevao told Amazon Prime. “It really was the perfect night.”

Substitute Delap then put the game to bed in the 73rd minute.

A second defeat has the Catalans down in 15th spot, but Barcelona coach Hansi Flick insisted he was “really positive” about their chances of automatic qualification to the last 16.

“We’ve got players coming back now and there are three games to play and nine points to win,” the German said.

Guardiola surprisingly rested the majority of his stars at the Etihad, with Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva and Gianluigi Donnarumma all left out of the starting line-up as Man City went down 2-0 to Leverkusen.

A first loss of the campaign for Man City, coming hot on the heels of Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Newcastle in the Premier League, leaves the 2023 winners on 10 points.

“I take full responsibility, still I think the players that started were exceptional players but we missed something needed at the highest level,” Guardiola said.

“I think playing every two or three days we need to make changes but seeing the result, maybe it’s too much.”

While defeat shall likely not prove fatal to their hopes of reaching the knockout stages, it was a chastening 100th European match in charge of City for Guardiola.

Slack defending allowed Alex Grimaldo the chance to put the away side in front in the 23rd minute, before Patrik Schick glanced in a second half-an-hour later. (JapanToday)

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Ukrainian sumo wrestler shocked to win first title

Ukrainian sumo wrestler Danylo Yavhusishyn said Monday that he had surprised even himself by becoming the first from his country to win a tournament in the ancient Japanese sport.

The 21-year-old, who fled the war in Ukraine three years ago, is set to be promoted to sumo’s second-highest rank this week after winning the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament.

The victory earned Yavhusishyn, who is known by his ring name Aonishiki, his first title in only his 14th tournament.

He did it by beating Mongolian grand champion Hoshoryu on Sunday.

“To be quite honest I wanted to win the tournament but I didn’t really think that I could,” he told reporters in Fukuoka. “I’m really happy.”

Yavhusishyn was born in central Ukraine and took up sumo at the age of seven, becoming a national champion at 17.

His age meant he narrowly avoided Ukraine’s military draft for men aged 18 and older after Russia invaded and he sought refuge in Germany, before moving to Japan.

His parents stayed in Germany and he arrived in Japan knowing nothing of the language.

Yavhusishyn said he spoke to his parents after winning the tournament and that he had also received messages from friends in Ukraine.

“I’ve had lots but I haven’t been able to reply to them all yet,” he said. “It will take time to reply to them all but I’ll start doing them one by one after this.”

Yavhusishyn became the second Ukraine-born professional sumo wrestler when he made his debut in July 2023, following in the footsteps of Serhii Sokolovskyi, better known as Shishi.

Yavhusishyn’s promotion to sumo’s upper divisions was the fifth fastest since the current system of six tournaments a year was introduced in 1958.

He kept his title hopes alive at the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament by beating Hoshoryu on the penultimate day, then triumphed over the Mongolian again to clinch the title.

“It was the last tournament of the year, so I wanted to give a good account of myself so that I wouldn’t end the year with any regrets,” said Yavhusishyn. (JapanToday)

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Everton shrug off bizarre red card to beat Man Utd

Everton survived an astonishing moment of madness at Old Trafford on Monday when Idrissa Gueye was sent off for slapping teammate Michael Keane to beat Manchester United 1-0.

The Senegal midfielder was shown his marching orders by referee Tony Harrington in the 13th minute after putting his hand to Keane’s face following an angry altercation.

The home crowd anticipated waves of attack but United failed to take advantage of their numerical advantage, proving toothless against David Moyes’ battling team.

Instead it was 10-man Everton who found the net, taking the lead courtesy of a wonderful strike by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in the 29th minute.

Dewsbury-Hall received the ball and surged towards goal, beating Bruno Fernandes and Leny Yoro before bending the ball into the top corner.

United huffed and puffed for the rest of the half, with Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford clawing away a Fernandes shot from distance as the half-time approached.

Ruben Amorim, marking the first anniversary of his maiden game in charge of United, brought on Mason Mount for Noussair Mazraoui at half-time but his team created little despite dominating possession.

Amorim threw on midfielder Kobbie Mainoo and Diogo Dalot for Casemiro and Yoro in the 58th minute but still United looked blunt.

Pickford kept out a powerful Joshua Zirkzee header with just over 10 minutes of normal time to go and Everton hung on for a famous win.

United came into the match at Old Trafford on the back of a five-game unbeaten run.

Everton suffered a big blow in just the 10th minute when they lost captain Seamus Coleman.

But worse was to follow three minutes later with the scarcely believable bust-up between Gueye and Keane.

Gueye is the first Premier League player to be sent off for fighting with a teammate since 2008.

The Premier League Match Centre posted on X: “The referee’s call of red card to Gueye for violent conduct was checked and confirmed by VAR –- with the action deemed to be a clear strike to the face of Keane.” (JapanToday)

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Guardiola apologises for clash with cameraman after Newcastle loss

Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola says he regrets losing his cool with a cameraman in the aftermath of Manchester City’s 2–1 defeat to Newcastle United on Saturday.

The City manager stormed onto the pitch at St James’ Park, angered by what he believed were multiple contentious decisions, a denied penalty, a handball shout, and a marginal offside, all of which went against his side.

According to BBC Sport on Monday, the Spaniard marched onto the pitch at the end, speaking with referee Sam Barrott, while he also pulled the headphones off of a cameraman to say something into his ear.

“I apologised. I feel embarrassed, ashamed when I see it. I don’t like it. I apologised after one second to the cameraman. I am who I am.

“After 1,000 games, I’m not a perfect person; I make huge mistakes. The reason why is I want to defend my team and my club,” Guardiola said of the incident, but did not reveal what was said.

There were flare-ups involving the players, too, with City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma being ushered down the tunnel and Magpies midfielder Joelinton being held back by his manager, Eddie Howe, while Guardiola also had words to say to Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes.

Guardiola added: “We have known Bruno for many, many years, and every time after the game, even at the Etihad, we talk in the tunnel or wherever we talk, always. I don’t know what happened.

“Our paths always cross, and I always have a good relationship with him. I love it. I’m an emotional guy, I love to talk and move my hands and my arms and everything.” (Punch)

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EPL: Arsenal beat Tottenham 4–1 as Eze scores hat-trick in North London derby

Arsenal moved six points clear at the top of the Premier League after a 4–1 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, with new signing Eberechi Eze scoring a brilliant hat-trick at the Emirates Stadium.

Eze, who joined Arsenal from Crystal Palace in the summer, was the star of the derby. Leandro Trossard opened the scoring in the first half after controlling a pass and finishing into the far corner. Minutes later, Eze made it 2–0 with a powerful right-footed shot from the edge of the box.

Just 35 seconds into the second half, Eze struck again, placing another low shot into the bottom corner to give Arsenal full control.

Tottenham pulled one back when Richarlison spotted goalkeeper David Raya off his line and scored from long range. It was Spurs’ first shot of the match.

Arsenal later restored their three-goal lead as Eze completed his hat-trick with another composed finish, becoming the first player to score a hat-trick in this derby in nearly 50 years.

The win gives Arsenal 29 points from 12 matches. They have now won nine games this season and are level with Manchester City on the most goals scored (24). Tottenham sit ninth with 18 points after suffering their fourth defeat of the campaign.

Arsenal will face Bayern Munich next in the Champions League on Wednesday before travelling to Chelsea in the Premier League next weekend. (Punch)

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Verstappen wins Las Vegas Grand Prix, narrows F1 points gap

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)

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SPL: Ronaldo scores bicycle kick in Al Nassr’s 4–1 win against Al Khaleej

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)

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Liverpool stunned by Forest; Newcastle damages Man City title push

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)