A “fired-up” Max Verstappen sent a warning to the rest of the grid that Red Bull are back on form as he set a searing pace to top the first two practice sessions at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Verstappen’s record 10-race winning run and Red Bull’s unbeaten season came to a shuddering halt last weekend in Singapore, where the team admitted they did not understand their struggles with the car’s set-up around the street circuit.

The 25-year-old was confident of a return to form around the high-speed corner track at Suzuka, where Lewis Hamilton predicted the Red Bull would be “phenomenal”, but all eyes were on the Dutchman who is closing in on a hat-trick of world titles.

His response to the struggles of Singapore was immediate and emphatic, finishing 0.626 seconds clear of Ferrari’s Singapore-winner Carlos Sainz in P1 before beating Charles Leclerc by 0.320sec in P2.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: “He dealt with (Singapore) very maturely.

“It was a difficult weekend but he raced very hard. It was what it was. He knew at some point we were going to get beaten and he dealt with the situation well.

“He has certainly come here pretty fired up as you could see from his outlap in P1 today.

“Max knew it was always going to come to an end at some point. That 10th victory meant a lot to him and certainly to the team so I’m glad Singapore wasn’t the 10th in that succession of races. I think he has just shown great leadership and great maturity.”

The second session was red-flagged with a little over two minutes remaining when Pierre Gasly crashed heavily into the barriers at Degner Two, bringing a premature end to the session.

McLaren had been tipped to be the closest challengers to Red Bull and Verstappen this weekend, with Mercedes’ George Russell even suggesting the British team could be favourites.

Lando Norris showed strong pace to finish the day third, albeit 0.464sec off the pace, while Oscar Piastri, who signed a contract extension earlier this week, claimed eighth in the second McLaren.

Red Bull will almost certainly clinch the Constructors’ Championship this weekend at the home race for their engine supplier Honda.

But Sergio Perez was over a second off the pace of his team-mate, finishing 11th in P1 and ninth in P2.

Fernando Alonso claimed sixth for Aston Martin ahead of the Williams of Alex Albon.

Mercedes pair Russell and Hamilton struggled in the opening session, finishing a lowly 13th and 16th respectively, with chief race engineer Andrew Shovlin admitting the team had work to do on the car setup.

Russell claimed fifth in P2 but Hamilton was only 14th, with the seven-time world champion a huge 1.141sec adrift off the pace.

British and Irish Lions pair Rory Sutherland and Chris Harris have been restored to the Scotland XV for Sunday’s World Cup pool B match against Tonga.

Head coach Gregor Townsend has made four changes in total to his starting line-up for the must-win encounter in Nice, with Scott Cummings and Kyle Steyn also added.

Prop Sutherland will make only his second start for the national team in 19 months after slipping down the pecking order since his involvement with the Lions two years ago. The 31-year-old takes the place of Pierre Schoeman, who drops to the bench.

Similarly, centre Harris, who also toured South Africa with the Lions in 2021, will make only his second international start of 2023 after losing his place to Huw Jones at the start of the year. Jones drops to the bench.

Wing Steyn is back in the team in place of Darcy Graham after declaring he was “absolutely gutted” to be left out of the 23 for the South Africa match.

The other change to the starting line-up sees lock Scott Cummings step in for Grant Gilchrist, who drops out of the matchday squad. Scrum-half George Horne and hooker Ewan Ashman are both on the bench after missing the 18-3 defeat against the Springboks with concussion.

What the papers say

The clock appears to be ticking on Jadon Sancho’s time at Manchester United. The Daily Star reports United are willing to sell the England winger, 23, in January for less than the £73million they paid Borussia Dortmund.

Another winger is being linked to a move to Old Trafford, with Manchester United among several clubs keen on Club Brugge youngster Antonio Nusa. The Daily Express reports Arsenal and Chelsea are also interested in the 18-year-old Norwegian, who is valued around £30million.

One forward not going anywhere is Son Heung-min. According to the Daily Telegraph, Tottenham are ready to trigger an option in the South Korean’s contract which will keep the 31-year-old at the club for a further year until 2026.

There are comings and goings off the pitch at Tottenham. The Guardian reports chief scout Leonardo Gabbanini has left the club ahead of the appointment of a new sporting director.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Michail Antonio: Wolves, Everton and Nottingham Forest could step in if the 33-year-old striker fails to agree a new deal at West Ham.

Khephren Thuram: Liverpool and Tottenham are among several top European clubs on the trail of Nice’s 22-year-old France midfielder.

Anthony Joshua defended his WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles with a seventh-round stoppage of Alexander Povetkin at Wembley on this day in 2018.

The then 28-year-old retained his belts after twice knocking Povetkin down to the canvas.

The British fighter earned his 22nd consecutive victory and remained unbeaten despite having his nose broken by the Russian in the first round.

Joshua fought back to win after knocking Povetkin down in the seventh round. The Russian beat the count of 10 before Joshua delivered a combination of punches to finish the bout.

After the fight, Joshua said: “Alexander Povetkin is a very tough challenger, and he proved that. But I’ve come in here to have fun, do what I’ve been working on in the gym and give it my best.

“I realised he was strong to the head, but I know that he was weak to the body, so instead of jabbing to the head, I was switching it up. He threw a good right, but let’s not worry about that, that’s out of the way.”

Nine months after his victory over Povetkin, Joshua suffered his first shock defeat after being knocked down by Andy Ruiz Jr in the seventh round before winning a rematch.

Last month, Joshua, now 33, produced a thunderous seventh-round stoppage against Robert Helenius to stay on track for a future bout with Deontay Wilder.

Manuel Margot singled to cap a two-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Tampa Bay Rays to a 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday.

Trailing by one entering the ninth, the Rays rallied against Angels closer Carlos Estevez.

Pinch-hitter Harold Ramirez and Yandy Diaz opened the inning with singles and runners were at the corners after Curtis Mead’s fly ball.

Isaac Paredes singled home the tying run and after Randy Arozarena struck out and Josh Lowe walked to load the bases, Margot flared a single to right to win it.

Tampa Bay already holds the top AL wild card and pulled within 1 ½ games of AL East-leading Baltimore after the Orioles’ 5-2 loss in Cleveland.

The late rally kept the Rays from losing consecutive games to the Angels, who stopped a six-game skid with an 8-3 win on Wednesday.

Tampa Bay starter Zach Eflin failed in his bid to become the AL’s first 16-game winner, allowing two runs and six hits in five innings.

Cole sharp as Yankees cool Blue Jays

Gerrit Cole boosted his Cy Young Award resume with eight stellar innings and the New York Yankees snapped the Toronto Blue Jays’ five-game winning streak, 5-3.

Cole retired the first 16 batters and allowed a run and two hits in his longest start since pitching a two-hit shutout against Minnesota on April 16.

He struck out nine without a walk and lowered his AL-best ERA to 2.75.

Jake Bauers gave Cole all the offense he needed with a three-run homer in the first inning.

Toronto is one-half game ahead of Texas and Seattle for the second of three AL wild-card spots.

Acuna, Olson power Braves

Matt Olson hit his major league-leading 53rd home run and Ozzie Albies homered for one of his four hits as the Atlanta Braves rolled to a 10-3 win over the Washington Nationals.

Atlanta totalled 18 hits with every member of the lineup reaching base at least once.

The Braves need only two wins in their final nine games to reach 100 wins for the second straight season.

Olson’s solo homer in the eighth inning gave him 132 RBIs, matching Gary Sheffield in 2003 for the most by a Braves player since the club moved to Atlanta in 1966.

Ronald Acuna Jr. tripled and scored in the third inning for his 140th run, making him the first player to reach that total since Alex Rodriguez had 143 in 2007.

Christian McCaffrey grabbed a touchdown for the 12th consecutive game as the San Francisco 49ers saw off the New York Giants 30-12 for a 3-0 start to the season.

Brock Purdy threw for two touchdown passes – to Ronnie Bell and Deebo Samuel – as he extended his winning run as a starter in the regular season to eight from as many starts.

But he struggled at times, narrowly avoiding turnovers and relying on his receivers to make the bulk of the yardage.

Although the 49ers offense was not particularly smooth, they were too good for the Giants – without the injured Saquon Barkley – as the defence finished the job.

Giants quarterback Daniel Jones struggled to make any headway downfield as he threw for just 137 yards and an interception.

The Giants’ only scores came from an eight-yard Matt Brieda touchdown run and a pair of first-half field goals.

McCaffrey’s four-yard touchdown run, which opened a 17-3 lead in the second quarter, equalled Jerry Rice’s franchise record of touchdowns in successive games and is just three short of the NFL record.

The 49ers have now won 13 consecutive regular season games as they moved to 3-0 for only the second time in 25 seasons.

Max Verstappen appears set to return to form at the Japanese Grand Prix after posting a blistering time in the opening practice session.

Verstappen’s record 10-race winning run and Red Bull’s unbeaten season came to a shuddering halt last weekend in Singapore, where the team admitted they did not understand their struggles with the car’s set-up around the street circuit.

Lewis Hamilton warned on Thursday the Red Bull car would be “phenomenal” around the high-speed corner circuit at Suzuka and, while practice times must always be treated with caution, it appears the runaway championship leader could dominate again this weekend.

Verstappen, who is closing in on a hat-trick of world titles, was the first car out on track and it took the Dutchman just a handful of laps to set the fastest time in every sector.

He finished the opening running 0.626 seconds clear of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who clinched victory in Singapore.

McLaren had been tipped to be the closest challengers to Red Bull this weekend with George Russell even suggesting they could be favourites.

Lando Norris delivered an impressive final lap to clinch third for the British team, ahead of the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc and home favourite Yuki Tsunoda in the AlphaTauri.

Oscar Piastri, who extended his McLaren contract this week, claimed seventh just behind the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso.

Red Bull will almost certainly clinch the Constructors’ Championship this weekend at the home race for their engine supplier Honda.

But Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez finished only 11th and a massive 1.396sec adrift of the pace-setter.

The second practice session gets under way at 1500 local time (0700 BST).

Michael Beale praised the performance of Jack Butland as Rangers opened their Europa League group stage campaign with a 1-0 home win over Real Betis.

Abdallah Sima was the matchwinner with a second-half strike but Butland ensured the victory with a number of big saves, including two late on from substitute Rodri.

The former England goalkeeper arrived at Ibrox in the summer to succeed Allan McGregor and Beale felt Butland was already proving his worth.

The Rangers manager said: “Jack was taking over from a modern day legend at the club and there were a lot of eyes on him.

“But I’ve known about Jack for a number of years and all he’s had here is an opportunity to play and show his quality.

“It’s still very early in his Rangers career but we’re delighted with him.

“To get him as a free transfer, I think we’ve done very well.

“But it’s only the start of his Rangers career.”

Beale felt his players had been “outstanding” in the second half as they started to dominate the contest.

But he warned they would need to back it up in the league, starting with Sunday’s visit of Motherwell to Ibrox.

He added: “It was a big result and well done to the players.

“We had a couple of big moments in the first half, particularly with Rabbi (Matondo) going clean through.

“We did not settle until after 35 minutes and that is something that has been recurring. In the second half I thought we were outstanding and the goal typified that.

“For everybody else it is just a goal off a set-play but we win four first contacts before the goal. In tight games that is what we need to do more of.

“I knew it would be tough and I told the players that at half-time. I told them to step over the line, to commit to the game fully and not be a seven out of 10.

“In that changing room it is worth it but it is just three points and the focus is now Motherwell.

“We have had a couple of bangs on the head this season and we have heard it loud and clear from the outside.

“We have had two clean sheets since the international break and that is a real positive sign.

“But, nothing is done. It is just one performance.”

Roberto De Zerbi congratulated his Brighton players in the dressing room for their performance despite losing 3-2 to AEK Athens on their European debut.

Despite dominating the ball and dictating the shape of the game in wet and difficult conditions at the Amex Stadium, Brighton were undone by an AEK side who made the best of what little they created and were clinical when their moments came.

First, the right-back Djibril Sidibe dashed into the box unmarked at a corner and flew into a superb diving header that nestled in the corner.

It was a lead they twice should have doubled when striker Levi Garcia went through on goal, first denied by goalkeeper Jason Steele then sliding the ball beyond the post as two glorious chances were wasted.

Brighton hit back through a penalty from Joao Pedro after a VAR check, the same means by which they levelled for a second time after the break. In between, Mijat Gacinovic had restored AEK’s lead, sliding in at a free-kick to finish from near the penalty spot.

Brighton were missing the injured Lewis Dunk in defence and his absence was felt again when substitute Ezequiel Ponce was given space on the counter-attack to win it for the Greek champions late on.

“We conceded three goals,” said De Zerbi. “Two goals in set pieces and one incredible goal, the third. We made some mistakes in the (final third) of the pitch, for example the chance of Joao Pedro in the second half, or the chance for Igor in the first half. But in terms of quality of play we played a very good game, I think.

“I’m really proud for the performance. I think we showed not the right experience, or maybe not the same experience as AEK Athens.

“But for the rest I think we played with personality and with the right attitude. We controlled the game, we dominated the game. And we are sad for the result.

“We are sad because we couldn’t make happy our fans, ourselves, our club. But we have to analyse the performance and the performance was good.

“We can learn. We have to learn. We can improve, but it’s difficult to accept this defeat. I congratulated the players 10 minutes ago, because I can’t be happy when we win at Old Trafford and sad today if the performances are both good performances.

“We have to know, and we knew before the game, that AEK had two situations where they could score; set-pieces and counter-attack. And when we’re defending set-pieces against this team, we have to be more focused, more with the right attitude, more smart to defend the set-pieces.”

De Zerbi confirmed that Dunk and striker Evan Ferguson had been ruled out of contention earlier on Thursday.

“Dunk couldn’t play because after the game with Man United he felt a problem,” he added. “This afternoon Evan had a temperature, he is ill.”

AEK manager Matias Almeyda reflected on a win which he hoped will help cement his team’s reputation as a serious European force this season.

“We work on the basis of playing a type of football based on team work,” he said. “I live my life the way I manage the team. I like to respect people and I like to be respected. We want to be respected in Europe and we wanted to get a result to gain that respect.

“We have been working together for over a year. We came here in order to play our usual game. The opposition on a number of occasions forced us to play a different kind of game. But it’s spirit of the team, a fighting spirit, and that’s what we have managed to achieve. To keep on fighting.”

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young is dealing with an ankle injury and is unlikely to play in Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks.

Young missed his second straight day of practice Thursday, and the winless Panthers released a statement on social media saying he isn't expected to play.

The top pick of this year's draft evidently injured his ankle during Carolina's 20-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Monday night, but coach Frank Reich wasn't sure when. Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown said the injury occurred in the first half, but Young never came out and didn't tell anyone until after the game.

With Young expected to sit, Andy Dalton will make his first start with the Panthers after starting 14 games for the Saints last season.

Young has started each of Carolina's first two losses and is experiencing the growing pains that come with being a rookie quarterback.

He ranks 31st in QB rating (66.6) while throwing for 299 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He's completing 59.2 per cent of his passes and his average of 4.21 yards per attempt is the worst in the NFL among starting quarterbacks.

Without a viable passing game, the Panthers are 28th in total offence and are tied for last in scoring.

Dalton, a 13-year-veteran, is 83-77-2 as a starter with 244 TD passes and 144 interceptions. Carolina will be the fifth franchise he starts a game for following one-year stints with Dallas, Chicago and New Orleans from 2020-22 after spending his first nine pro seasons with Cincinnati.

David Moyes gave the kudos to Mohammed Kudus after the Ghana winger helped West Ham come from behind to beat Europa League minnows TSC Backa Topola 3-1.

The Hammers made heavy weather of the opening match of their latest European adventure on a stormy night in Stratford, but headers from £38million summer signing Kudus and substitute Tomas Soucek got the Hammers off to a winning start.

East London was hit by torrential rain before kick-off with water cascading through the roof onto the concourses at London Stadium.

The floodgates failed to open on the pitch in the first half, however, despite West Ham being in the rare position of dominating possession on the soggy surface, and they fell behind after a mistake by Angelo Ogbonna.

“Tonight I thought we did enough to win although I didn’t think we were great in a lot of things we did,” said Moyes.

“The goal was probably our own doing but I didn’t fear the worst. It was a game where we had the lot of the ball and gave us a chance to see if we could do what teams have done to us lately.

“The mistake changed the game – but it also made us more determined.

“Kudus I thought started really brightly and came up with an important goal when I couldn’t really see where we would get one from.”

The Hammers had 78 per cent possession in the first half, which was the exact opposite of their stats during the recent smash-and-grab win at Brighton.

But Moyes got a taste of his own medicine when Ogbonna dawdled on the halfway line and Petar Sanic raced clear to give the Serbians a shock lead.

However the Hammers, whose last European outing was their triumphant Europa Conference League final win over Fiorentina in June, hit back in the 66th minute, albeit in fortunate fashion as Said Benrahma’s cross was turned in at the far post by TSC defender Nemanja Petrovic.

Kudus got his goal four minutes later and Soucek headed the third – with both coming from James Ward-Prowse corners – to finally ease West Ham nerves.

TSC coach Zarko Lazetic said: “We are disappointed and a little bit angry. We respect the other team, but we felt we definitely had an opportunity.

“Our tactic was to come and win and we feel sorry it didn’t happen.”

Dallas Cowboys Pro Bowl cornerback Trevon Diggs will reportedly miss the rest of the 2023 season after tearing the ACL in his left knee during Thursday's practice. 

NFL.com reports that an MRI confirmed the extent of the injury, which Diggs sustained during a one-on-one drill. The fourth-year standout was later spotted on crutches at the Cowboys' training facility, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Diggs' absence is a major blow to a Dallas team that's outscored the opposition by a 70-10 margin in winning its first two games. The 25-year-old's 18 interceptions since entering the NFL in 2020 are tied for the most by any player over that span. 

A second-round pick by Dallas in 2020, Diggs earned first team All-Pro honours in 2021 by recording a league-leading 11 interceptions, the most by any player in a single season since the Cowboys' Everson Walls also had 11 in 1981.

Diggs was off to another strong start in 2023, as he allowed just two completions on nine pass attempts thrown his way for a total of 26 yards to go along with one interception.

"Saw that I guess a couple of you saw (Diggs injured) out there on the field," Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott told reporters following Thursday's practice. "Prayers, hoping for the best, simple as that.”

Diggs had just signed a five-year, $97 million extension in training camp that will keep him under contract through the 2028 season. 

The Cowboys do have depth at cornerback after acquiring 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore from the Indianapolis Colts in March to form a trio with Diggs and DaRon Bland, the team's leader with five interceptions in 2022.

Dallas could move Bland from the slot into Diggs' outside position with Jourdan Lewis taking over the nickel role. Lewis started 30 games over the previous three seasons, but has been eased into action in 2023 due to a foot injury that limited him to just six games last season. 

Brighton were taught a harsh lesson on their Europa League debut as Greek champions AEK Athens ran out 3-2 winners after a pulsating encounter at the Amex Stadium.

Substitute Ezequiel Ponce struck the winner on the counter-attack six minutes from the end of normal time as Roberto De Zerbi’s side failed to heed the signs after falling behind twice previously in the first half.

Joao Pedro equalised from the penalty spot in the first period then again in the second, both times after VAR had intervened in Brighton’s favour.

The hosts had the better of the play but they lacked the clinical edge of AEK, who scored with two excellent finishes from set-pieces. The first goal was a superb header from Djibril Sidibe, followed by a sliding finish from Mijat Gacinovic as Brighton were undone by nerves and their own naivety.

The opening goal came after 11 minutes and was against the early run of the play.

AEK’s first attack saw them win a corner on the left after a low cross was turned behind. As the ball was whipped in, no one had picked up the lurking Sidibe who with a late dash into the box caught Brighton out with a superb 15-yard diving header that whistled past Jason Steele.

De Zerbi’s side had been badly caught out, and seconds later it could have been two. Levi Garcia, who would torment Brighton in the first period with pace and clever movement, raced beyond the defence and went through on goal, but Garcia’s tame finish was too close to Steele.

Garcia wasted another glorious chance to double the lead from an almost identical position, this time slipping his effort just beyond the far post.

Pedro nodded wide from a free header inside the six-yard box as Brighton finally put together an attack to concern the AEK defence, but within a minute he had made amends for his profligacy.

When defender Ehsan Hajsafi dangled a leg as Pedro looked to cut inside to shoot the referee initially booked the striker for diving. But after a pitchside VAR review the booking was rescinded, Pedro stepped up and coolly rolled his penalty beyond Cican Stankovic to score Brighton’s first European goal.

At that stage it appeared that they had had their reprieve for the way they had left themselves vulnerable to AEK’s threat, but five minutes before the break there was another fine delivery from a set-piece and another critical lapse in concentration.

Brighton held a high line on the edge of their own box as a free-kick was whipped in from 40 yards out, but as blue shirts charged back towards their own goal none could prevent Gacinovic from sliding to get a foot on the ball to turn it beyond Steele.

There was still time for Jan-Paul Van Hecke to deny Orbelin Pineda what would have been a deserved third for AEK on the stroke of half-time.

There was relief then around the Amex when the referee was directed pitch-side for another VAR review after Pedro’s tumble inside the box under Damian Szymanski’s challenge had at first been waved on.

As in the first half, the decision was overturned, and Pedro got to his feet to replicate his earlier composed finish to draw Brighton level again.

De Zerbi was booked for remonstrating too forcefully on the touchline, before Pedro was handed the chance to seal his hat-trick and an opening night win when he spring the offside trap and went one-on-one with Stankovic. This time the goalkeeper got the better of their duel.

Then came AEK’s final sting. A raking ball from the back was nodded out wide by Ponce to Niclas Eliasson, who returned the ball to his fellow substitute. Although Steele blocked Ponce’s shot, the rebound ricocheted off the Argentinian and into the net for the winner.