Max Verstappen expressed his pride after a far from straightforward victory at the Dutch Grand Prix, where the Red Bull driver overcame the pursuit of Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton seemed set to push for his first victory of 2022 at Zandvoort on Sunday but was stifled by pitting decisions and safety car deployments.
A virtual safety car was deployed after AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda was forced to stop following tyre concerns, offering Verstappen a fortuitous pit stop when embroiled in a battle at the front with Hamilton.
Another safety car followed after Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas stopped citing engine concerns, with Verstappen again pitting – arguably a surprising decision that seemed to hand Hamilton the initiative.
But Verstappen roared back in typically aggressive fashion to overtake the seven-time world champion on the main straight of lap 61, before easing to victory ahead of George Russell in second.
That marked a 10th victory of the season for Verstappen, his joint-best return in a single year, while he became the first driver since James Hunt in 1975 and 1976 to win back-to-back F1 races at Zandvoort.
After delivering in front of a largely partisan crowd in the Netherlands, Verstappen credited Red Bull's decisions that ensured he held off Hamilton through the latter stages of the race.
"It was not a straightforward race but we had to push, of course with safety car, virtual safety car, making the right calls," he said on Sky Sports during his post-race interview.
"Always a bit of question mark but it worked out really well. Once we got back to the soft tyres we had great pace again."
Asked whether he harboured any doubts over decisions as Hamilton pressed on, Verstappen added: "We timed it really well out of that last corner into the banking.
"You could see the draft was quite strong and we got ahead. It's incredible to win again.
"It's always special to win your home GP. This year I had to work for it even more. An incredible weekend and I'm really happy we got the Dutch GP."
Charles Leclerc started second on the grid after being edged out by Verstappen in Saturday's qualifying session, though the Ferrari driver had to settle for third on race day despite promising early signs of pace.
The Monegasque racer may have finished on the podium but sits 109 points behind championship leader Verstappen, and Leclerc conceded the Red Bull driver was a class above at the Dutch Grand Prix.
"To be honest, it was difficult to do much better," Leclerc said. "We were a little unlucky with the [virtual safety car]. I don't know if this would have changed anything – Max was too quick today.
"Then there was Mercedes, which were flying on the hard tyres. We struggled to find the feeling on the hard tyres, so we'll analyse that."
Alisson believes Liverpool are improving despite making their worst start to a Premier League season under Jurgen Klopp, after the Reds were held to a frustrating Merseyside derby draw by Everton.
After missing several clear-cut opportunities in Saturday's 0-0 draw at Goodison Park, Liverpool have picked up just nine points from their first six games of the campaign – their lowest tally since they claimed eight under Brendan Rodgers in 2015-16.
Liverpool's 25th Premier League outing of 2022 was also the first in which they failed to find the net, with Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz both hitting the woodwork amid an inspired performance from Toffees goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
The England goalkeeper's tally of eight saves against the Reds is the highest he has ever recorded while keeping a Premier League clean sheet.
Alisson was also forced into fine saves by Neal Maupay and Dwight McNeil in a lively encounter, but has chose to remain upbeat about Liverpool's performances.
"We are really focused on getting the victories back. It was really important we won the last game [against Newcastle United on Wednesday]," he told the club's official website.
"Not always do you get the results that you want, but you have to fight for that. You need to have consistency in your performances, and we are getting there.
"We are improving in respect of the last games we had, each game we are improving a step.
"Players are coming back from injuries, so that is really important and that is the good side of everything."
Asked whether Liverpool had done enough to come away with the three points against Everton, the Brazil international added: "We didn't win, so the answer is not.
"But we did quite well, we improved our performance in respect of the last matches. We created chances, so many clear chances.
"We could have scored, but the opponent as well had their opportunities.
"We defended well, enough to keep the clean sheet – that is the common goal for the team, we work hard for that. For today, we get a point and just keep on going."
Liverpool will turn their attentions to the Champions League when they travel to Napoli on Wednesday, before hosting Wolves in their next Premier League fixture on Saturday.
New signing Antony was named in Manchester United's starting line-up for the first time for Sunday's Premier League clash with Arsenal.
The Brazil international became United's second-most expensive signing when joining from Ajax for £86million (€100m) earlier this week.
Antony was expected to be included among the substitutes against Arsenal, but the winger was instead named in Erik ten Hag's starting XI.
The introduction of debutant Antony was the only change from Thursday's 1-0 win at Leicester City, with Anthony Elanga dropping to the bench.
Cristiano Ronaldo was also named among the subs for the fourth game running, while Casemiro must wait for his first start for the club.
Ten Hag had previously named the same starting line-up for United's past three matches, each of which finished in victories.
As for Arsenal, they were boosted by the return of Oleksandr Zinchenko after recovering from a knee injury that kept the full-back out of Arsenal's previous two matches.
Aaron Ramsdale and Martin Odegaard were also fit enough to start after overcoming knocks sustained against Aston Villa.
Arsenal entered the game top of the embryonic Premier League table after winning their opening five matches.
The Gunners had only started three previous top-flight seasons with a run of five wins, doing so in 1930-31, 1947-48 and 2004-05.
Manchester United XI: De Gea; Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Malacia; McTominay, Eriksen; Antony, Fernandes, Sancho; Rashford.
Subs: Dubravka, Heaton, Shaw, Lindelof, Maguire, Fred, Casimiro, Elanga, Ronaldo.
Arsenal XI: Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Lokonga, Xhaka; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Jesus.
Subs: Turner, Tierney, Cedric, Tomiyasu, Holding, Vieira, Smith Rowe, Marquinhos, Nketiah.
Max Verstappen held off a spirited push from Lewis Hamilton to secure a second consecutive Dutch Grand Prix victory and extend his championship lead to 109 points.
The reigning Formula One champion edged out Charles Leclerc in qualifying to put himself in pole position ahead of Sunday's eventful race, where George Russell finished second and Charles Leclerc took third. Hamilton eventually faded to fourth.
AlphiTauri's Yuki Tsunoda and Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas both stopped midway through the race, with Verstappen's pit stop after the second safety car allowing Hamilton to take the lead.
Yet Verstappen recovered and regained the lead by going past Hamilton down the main straight on lap 61 to claim a fourth consecutive victory and 10th of the season, his joint-best return in a single year after also hitting double figures last year.
The top five retained their positions during an eventful start where Hamilton and Carlos Sainz touched cars through turn one, while Haas' Kevin Magnussen slipped off the track and hit the barrier.
Verstappen continued to keep Leclerc at bay through the opening 10 laps, responding to the Ferrari driver's early signs of pace by pressing forward to move out of DRS range.
A problematic pit stop for Sainz in which no rear-left tyre appeared available saw the Ferrari drop from third to 11th on lap 15, with Hamilton displacing the Spaniard as Verstappen stretched his lead over Leclerc.
Sainz recovered into sixth as Verstappen pitted for the first time on lap 19, with Hamilton – still winless in 2022 – taking the lead as Mercedes ran a one-two with Russell in second.
Verstappen roared back before a pit stop for Hamilton, who then got the better of Sergio Perez as the Mexican aimed to protect his Red Bull team-mate's lead.
A virtual safety car deployed after issues for Tsunoda offered a glorious chance to pit on lap 48 for Verstappen, who led Hamilton by almost 16 seconds with 23 laps to go after the Mercedes driver pitted.
Verstappen squandered his advantage by pitting after another safety car deployment, but he recovered to surge back into the lead with 11 laps to go to race to victory.
Russell and Hamilton almost collided as the former looked to overtake into second, with the seven-time world champion slipping down to fourth after Leclerc eased past him.
Francesco Bagnaia claimed a dramatic victory at the San Marino Grand Prix after holding off future team-mate Enea Bastianini in Misano.
The 14th race of the MotoGP World Championship went right down to the wire between the two Italians, who will team up at Ducati for the 2023 season.
But despite intense pressure from his compatriot over the final few laps, Bagnaia held his nerve to prevail by a mere 0.034 seconds.
In closing the gap on championship leader Fabio Quartararo, who finished fifth, to 30 points Bagnaia becomes the first Ducati rider to win four successive races.
Maverick Vinales completed the podium, while Andrea Dovizioso finished 12th in the final race of his MotoGP career.
Following a three-place grid penalty in qualifying, Bagnaia started in P5 with Jack Miller having ensured his first pole in four years.
However, the Australian fell in just the second lap after slipping at turn four, while Marco Bezzecchi followed a few turns later.
Bagnaia first led in lap three with Bastianini, Vinales and Luca Marini for company, and Quartararo and Aleix Espargaro further back.
As Marini fell away, a couple of untidy corners saw Vinales also lose ground with eight laps to go; setting up a straight race between Bagnaia and Bastianini for the chequered flag.
Though Bastianini gradually closed the gap over the final four laps, he missed a couple of opportunities to pass as a stubborn Bagnaia held out to maintain his winning streak by the finest of margins.
"I struggled at the start because the grip was not so high," he said. "I was struggling to find some traction. But my feeling with the tyres was getting better lap by lap.
"In the last laps, I was trying to push to open a gap, but Enea was too fast. I'm very happy to win today. It wasn't the best start from P5, but we did it."
TOP 10
1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
2. Enea Bastianini (Gresini) +0.034
3. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) +4.212
4. Luca Marini (Ducati) +5.283
5. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +5.771
6. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) +10.230
7. Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar) +12.496
8. Brad Binder (KTM) +14.661
9. Jorge Martin (Ducati) +17.732
10. Alex Marquez (Honda) +21.986
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Riders
1. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) - 211
2. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) - 181
3. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) - 178
4. Enea Bastianini (Gresini) - 138
5. Johann Zarco (Ducati) - 125
Teams
1. Ducati - 279
2. Aprilia Racing - 253
3. Monster Energy Yamaha - 226
4. Pramac Racing - 212
5. Red Bull KTM - 192
Paul McGinley says it "breaks my heart" to see a number of his close friends and former Ryder Cup team-mates join the controversial LIV Golf Invitational Series.
Golf has been divided over the past six months by the arrival of the Saudi-backed breakaway, which has seen a number of high-profile names defect from the PGA Tour.
Six more players were announced by LIV Golf this week, including reigning Open champion Cameron Smith, ahead of the series' latest big-money event in Boston.
The PGA Tour has banned those competing in LIV Golf from taking part in any of their competitions, though that is subject to another legal challenge.
The DP World Tour was unsuccessful in doing so, meanwhile, and 18 LIV players will compete in the PGA Championship at Wentworth next week.
That includes the likes of Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell and Ian Poulter, each of whom McGinley has previously teamed up with for Ryder Cup duty.
McGinley finds the rift difficult to accept and claims that no player on the DP World Tour wants the LIV golfers involved at Wentworth.
"It breaks my heart because I have an emotional connection with every one of those players," he told The Sunday Times.
"I will see Poulter and I'll shake his hand at Wentworth, the same with Westwood and all of those guys that I shared team rooms with. That bond will never be broken.
"But we're definitely on different sides now. And it's really sad that it has come to this. Every one of those players knew the consequences when they signed with LIV.
"They also knew there was the potential for the Ryder Cup to be collateral damage in all of this. They still think they can play in the Ryder Cup.
"Who knows what's going to happen in six months' time? I think, at this stage, it's highly unlikely that any of them will be involved in the Ryder Cup again.
"If this is how it pans out, it won't be because of [DP World Tour chief executive] Keith Pelley or the board say so.
"It's because our members, the players who have remained loyal to our tour, don't want the LIV guys anywhere near the Ryder Cup.
"The feeling is that you cannot play [for] both sides. Mo Salah doesn't get to play for Liverpool one week and Real Madrid the next. LIV is a rival tour."
Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim has announced his Twenty20 International retirement.
The 35-year-old has called time on his T20I career in order to "focus on Test and ODI formats of the game".
An Asia Cup defeat to Sri Lanka on Thursday will be Mushfiqur's 102nd and final appearance for his country in the shortest format.
He tweeted on Sunday: "Today, I am announcing my retirement from T20 Internationals.
"I will proudly continue to represent Bangladesh in Test and ODI formats. I am hopeful that I can bring success for our nation in these two formats. I will continue to take part in Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and other franchise tournaments."
Mushfiqur's decision comes just over a month before the T20 World Cup gets under way in Australia.
He scored 1,500 T20I runs at an average of 19.48, taking 42 catches and finishing with 30 stumpings after making his debut back in November 2006.
Juventus chief executive Maurizio Arrivabene thinks Cristiano Ronaldo's situation at Manchester United is "sad to see".
Portugal international Ronaldo is reported to have asked for a move away from Old Trafford during the transfer window to play for a team competing in the Champions League.
Despite being linked with the likes of Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Napoli and his former club Sporting CP, Ronaldo remains a United player following Thursday's transfer deadline.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner started just one of United's five Premier League matches this season ahead of Sunday's home clash with Arsenal.
Ronaldo's total of 175 minutes played this term is only the 13th most among all United players, with Anthony Elanga (215) among those to have featured more prominently.
While Arrivabene sympathises with Ronaldo, who spent three years at Juve prior to rejoining United in August 2021, he says it is now United's issue to resolve.
"We said goodbye to Cristiano with great reciprocal respect a year ago, so what happens at Manchester United is no longer our problem," Arrivabene told DAZN.
"It's sad to see him in this situation that is not pleasant for him or for his team, but again, that is no longer our business."
Juventus had themselves been tipped to make a move for Ronaldo, who scored 101 goals in 134 appearances for the Turin giants, but that speculation did not come to fruition.
However, Juve did strengthen during the window with the additions of Angel Di Maria, Paul Pogba, Bremer, Arkadiusz Milik, Filip Kostic and Leandro Paredes.
Massimiliano Allegri's side have started the 2022-23 campaign with two wins and three draws and now prepare for Tuesday's Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain.
"It was important to bridge the gap that was seen last season and I think we achieved that," Arrivabene said of Juve's transfer business.
"With the prices that are on the transfer market now, it's less a market, more a high-end boutique.
"Tuesday we will be in Paris for the Champions League and are keeping our powder dry for that game. We must have great respect for PSG, but no fear."
James Slipper wants Australia to "hurt" after they were consigned to a 24-8 Rugby Championship defeat by South Africa.
The Springboks overpowered the Wallabies at Allianz Stadium on Saturday, outscoring them by four tries to one.
Debutant Canan Moodie, Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi and Franco Mostert crossed as the world champions joined Australia and Argentina on nine points, one behind leaders New Zealand.
Slipper, captain in the absence of Michael Hooper, says Dave Rennie's side should be feeling the pain after they were well beaten in Sydney.
He said: "I want the boys to hurt. Yes, South Africa were good, but I felt like we didn't play much rugby at all.
"We wanted to review last week and be a better rugby team. At no stage should we think we're the finished product.
"Individually we need to look at ourselves. I'm confident we're tracking in the right direction. We just need a bit more polish. We need to execute under pressure."
Australia's next assignment is a Bledisloe Cup opener against the All Blacks on September 15 and Slipper expects them to come back stronger after their hopes of winning the competition took a blow.
"It's tough when you're walking off the field after a loss, but we've got a lot of confidence in the group that we have," he said.
"We're after consistency and that's the big driver for us and when we start seeing that I feel that we'll see success coming our way."
Victory for the Springboks was their first in Australia for nine years and left the battle for the title wide open.
Tyson Fury declared "never say never" about joining WWE after playing a starring role at Clash at the Castle in the Cardiff.
The 34-year-old featured at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, joining in the headline clash between champion Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre.
Fury left his front-row seat in Cardiff when Austin Theory attempted to cash in his 'money in the bank' contract before downing the 25-year-old.
Reigns emerged victorious by pinning McIntyre before the pair were greeted in the ring by Fury, who treated the crowd to a rendition of Don McLean's 'American Pie'.
While Fury waits for a heavyweight unification clash against Oleksandr Usyk, he refused to rule out moving to WWE after his boxing career comes to an end.
"At the moment I'm a heavyweight world champion, and I have plenty of fights I have to take care of over the next few years," Fury responded when asked about the prospect of joining WWE.
"But I really, really have a passion for WWE. Never say never."
"Usyk was calling me out after his last fight with [Anthony] Joshua, I've replied and said let's do the fight this year, wherever they want to do it," Fury said.
"I've been waiting for offers from countries to come forward, and all of a sudden Usyk has stated he doesn't want to fight anymore, he wants to fight next year, not this year.
"So I'm not going to wait around for anybody, I'm announcing a fight next week."
Victoria Azarenka says vulnerable young female tennis players are "getting taken advantage of" as she called for improved safeguarding in the sport.
The Belarusian, who sits on an eight-person WTA players council, was speaking after Frenchwoman Fiona Ferro accused her former coach Pierre Bouteyre of rape and sexual assault.
Bouteyre strongly denied the allegations, with his lawyer telling AFP that he "recognises the relationship occurred but denies any coercion."
Speaking after her US Open victory over Petra Martic, Azarenka called for increased protection and says she would have a "very big concern" if she had a daughter who wanted to play professional tennis.
"It's a very sensitive subject because you won't hear those stories unless players come out and tell those stories," Azarenka said. "It happens right and left on the tour, which is unfortunate.
"Our job is to be better at safeguarding. As player council, it's almost like the number one subject to us. Because we see those vulnerable young ladies getting taken advantage of in different situations.
"It's really sad and really makes me emotional because I have a son [and] I don't see that happening so much on the men's tour.
"If I had a daughter, I would have to question would she want to play tennis, that would be a very big concern in that way for me.
"[The] recent story with Fiona Ferro that came out. I don't know how to put it in words sometimes. All you can do is check in on the person and kind of give your hand what I can do, what I can help with.
"I applaud her for being brave. I hope this situation she's gonna come out of it stronger and tennis is not ruined for her because of that. That's I think [a] very, very heavy topic.
"But it's the topic that has to come out more, and I think it's [journalists'] job also to not expose it. It sounds pretty weird when I say that, but do the research, help people to open up more.
"It's hopefully one by one [as we] try to eliminate that type of situation."
Rafael Leao was Milan's hero in the derby against Inter and head coach Stefano Pioli says the Rossoneri are determined to tie the in-demand forward to a new deal.
Leao scored twice and provided an assist for Olivier Giroud as the Serie A champions defeated their city rivals 3-2 in an entertaining clash at San Siro on Saturday.
It was a welcome performance for Milan supporters, who had seen their star linked with a move to Premier League big-spenders Chelsea on transfer deadline day.
However, the Blues were rebuffed in their attempts to strike a deal for a player who reportedly has a €150million release clause in his contract, which runs until June 2024.
Pioli said he was never fearful Leao would depart and has now confirmed the plan is to tie the 23-year-old to a longer contract.
"These are not things that I can decide, but I believe the club wants to offer Leao a new deal soon. He is working at the best level," he told reporters.
"Rafa has beautiful attitudes, he knows that he has been gifted with talent.
"Then for the contract, whoever has to do what he has to do."
Giroud says he was always confident his Leao would stay with Milan, saying: "I was not worried about him. I knew he would remain here."
Pioli is sure there is plenty more to come from the Portugal international.
Speaking to DAZN, he said: "In order to improve, you need talent and intelligence, so Leao has both of those. We gave him the time and freedom to make mistakes so he could learn.
"Naturally, every time we put him in one-on-one situations, he's an important weapon in our armoury.
"Rafa has a body language that might confuse people, but I can assure you he knows what potential he has and is very eager to learn."
Sarina Wiegman expressed her pride and relief after England qualified for the 2023 Women's World Cup with a 2-0 win over Austria.
Alessia Russo, replacing the retired Ellen White in the starting line-up, opened the scoring and Nikita Parris doubled the European champions' lead at Wiener Neustadt Stadium on Saturday.
Victory for the Lionesses sealed their place in the showpiece in the tournament in Australia and New Zealand next year with one game to spare - against Luxembourg on Tuesday.
England head coach Wiegman reflected on a job well done just over a month after her side won a first major trophy by being Germany at Wembley.
She said: "I'm happy that we qualified, that we had a win, conceded no goals, scored two, which is one more than we did in the other two games (England beat Austria 1-0 in their two previous encounters). So that's nice.
"It was again a hard game, but coming out of the Euros, not having that much rest, I'm very proud of the team that we came out like this and we just won the game. It looks so easy but I think it was pretty hard."
The Dutchwoman added: "It is absolutely a relief. We also know that if we weren't successful today, possibly we would qualify on Tuesday. But you don't want that. You want to win every game, play well every game.
"You want to show how good you can play, and I think lots of parts in the game we did that today, and we had some parts where we weren't tight enough and made some mistakes, and they created some chances.
"But still 2-0 is 2-0, we're qualified and we had a great qualification [campaign]."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
