Lando Norris "had faith" that McLaren were quick and was rewarded with pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix.

The Brit was quickest in a dramatic qualifying session, crossing the line 0.203 seconds quicker than Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who will start in second.

After tough practice sessions, Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and George Russell improved on their performances to finish third and fourth respectively, with Oscar Piastri in fifth.

The times came from a one-lap shootout after Carlos Sainz forced the third session to be stopped as he crashed into the barriers on the final corner of his first lap.]

And Ferrari's day got worse as Charles Leclerc had his lap time deleted for a track limits breach at turn two.

Norris admitted it was a tough qualification session but was pleased to come out on top as he attempts to close the gap to Verstappen in the divers' championship.

"It was tough, especially through qualifying. I was finding it a little difficult to progress much and gain a lot of lap time," Norris said.

"And all of the guys around seemed to get quicker and quicker, so it put me under a bit more pressure, especially with just one lap at the end.

"I had faith we were quick, so I didn't have to over-push and I could just do what I've been doing the whole weekend.

"It was good enough for pole, and I'm happy with that, especially here in Singapore. A good feeling. I've felt good all weekend, I've felt confident, maybe not so much in qualy but we got the job done."

Asked how he felt about the one-lap shootout, he added: "I like it. It gets your heart rate going and it's good fun. My lap wasn't as good as my lap previous to the red flag, so there's always just that little bit more in it.

"But the car's been feeling good and when you have a good feeling car, and you're confident, you can go out and push and get the lap time, so I did the job I had to do today and excited to see what we can do tomorrow."

Verstappen struggled in the second practice session, finishing 15th on the timesheet, but he improved on Saturday to ensure he would start on the front row with Norris.

The Dutchman had been unhappy with his car’s performance on Friday but was feeling more optimistic about his chances on Sunday after qualifying.

"The whole of qualifying went quite well. We managed to improve the car run after run," Verstappen said.

"I'm happy to be on the front row if you look at where we came from yesterday.

"Q3 was tough. Your lap gets, of course, cancelled with the double-waved yellow, then everyone only has one run to do the lap, so you don't want to overdo it. You want to stay within the limit. I'll take second - I'm happy with that.

"Tomorrow is a bit difficult to say. In Singapore, a lot of things can happen, but at least we have a shot at it like this."

Qualifying results

1. Lando Norris (McLaren)

2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

4. George Russell (Mercedes)

5. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

6. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)

7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

8. Yuki Tsunoda (RB)

9. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

10. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)

Fulham ended Newcastle United’s unbeaten start to the Premier League season and recorded their second victory of the campaign, winning 3-1 at Craven Cottage.

Raul Jimenez scored the opening goal after five minutes, chesting down Adama Traore’s cross and firing a shot low into the net.

Smith Rowe nearly doubled the lead just moments later when he struck an effort onto the top of the crossbar, but later found the net from close-range on 22 minutes.

Newcastle responded inside 28 seconds of the second half, with Harvey Barnes producing a fine finish to halve the deficit.

The hosts nearly gifted Newcastle an equaliser shortly after as Bernd Leno presented Fabian Schar with the ball from a goal-kick but the defender failed to punish the goalkeeper.

Both sides had chances in the second half, but substitute Reiss Nelson sealed the three points for the hosts with a goal in added time.

Fulham climb to eighth in the Premier League table, while Newcastle drop to sixth after their first defeat of the season.

Data Debrief: Jimenez sets the tone

Raul Jimenez has scored eight goals in his last nine Premier League starts, netting in consecutive league games for the first time since December 2023.

The victory means Fulham are unbeaten in their last four Premier League games (W2 D2), their longest without defeat since February 2023 (also 4 games). They’ve never been on a longer such run under Marco Silva in the competition.

 

Sam Morsy's stunning stoppage-time goal salvaged a point for Ipswich Town as they fought back to earn a 1-1 draw with Southampton at St Mary's.

With both sides winless in their first four games of 2024/25 after winning promotion together from the Championship last term, Saturday's match was played out at a relentless pace from the off.

Teenager Tyler Dibling, one week on from a positive performance against Manchester United, put Southampton ahead early on, taking in Adam Lallana's pass and producing a composed one-on-one finish.

Russell Martin's team were closing in on a huge victory when Morsy struck five minutes into stoppage time, sending a 20-yard volley into the top-left corner via the help of a slight deflection off Jan Bednarek.

The result keeps both teams still waiting on their first wins of the campaign, with Southampton 18th after earning their first point and Ipswich two points better off in 16th.

Data Debrief: Ipswich the long-range maestros

All three of Ipswich’s Premier League goals this season have come from outside the box, with Morsy pouncing on a half-cleared corner at the death to find the top-left corner, with a little help from a deflection.

They are the fifth side in Premier League history to have each of their first three goals in a single campaign come from distance, after Aston Villa (1993-94), Arsenal (2002-03), Fulham (2009-10) and Burnley (2016-17).

While the Tractor Boys are still waiting on their first Premier League win since 2002, Southampton remain winless in 18 Premier League matches, since a 1-0 win against Leicester in March 2023.

Stephy Mavididi’s equaliser means Leicester City and Everton are still waiting for their first win of the campaign after a 1-1 draw in torrential rain at the King Power Stadium.

After losing their opening four matches in the Premier League, Sean Dyche’s side are off the mark for the season but will have to wait for their first three points.

Iliman Ndiaye gave Everton the lead in the 11th minute as he turned to create space in the box before slotting the ball into the net with such precision it ricocheted in off the left post.

Leicester’s response came with 17 minutes left on the clock as Mavididi reacted first to sweep home from Harry Winks' corner off the right.

Everton are up to 19th in the table on goal difference, while the Foxes sit in 15th.

The torrential rain in Leicester nearly helped the hosts to a goal in the 35th minute as Mavididi unintentionally tested Jordan Pickford with a wayward cross, but the goalkeeper managed to keep it out.

Data debrief: Drawn out encounter

This fixture has seen the most draws in Premier League history. Out of the 35 times the teams have met, 17 of those have ended in draws which is the highest proportion for any fixture to have been played 30+ times in the competition (49%).

Sean Dyche broke Leicester City's streak of beating sides starting the day bottom of the table. Prior to this match, they had won their last five home Premier League games against such opponents by an aggregate score of 17-1. The last side in 20th to avoid defeat at the King Power was Dyche’s Burnley in a 2-2 draw in October 2014.

Liverpool surged to the Premier League summit after Luiz Diaz scored twice in a convincing 3-0 victory over Bournemouth.

Visiting forward Antoine Semenyo saw an early strike overturned for offside following a VAR review before one-way traffic ensued in the first half at Anfield, with Diaz twice on target.

The Colombia winger profited from Kepa Arrizabalaga's slack positioning for the opener before finishing through the legs of the Bournemouth goalkeeper just two minutes later.

Darwin Nunez added an eye-catching third with a brilliant strike before the break as Arne Slot's side responded in style to their defeat against Nottingham Forest last time out in the competition.

Saturday's routine win moves Liverpool, at least temporarily, to top spot before Sunday's heavyweight clash between Manchester City and Arsenal, while Bournemouth drop to 13th.

Data Debrief: Diaz dazzles on Merseyside

Diaz continued his fine start under Slot this season, taking his tally to five for the campaign, with only Erling Haaland (nine) scoring more at this stage.

Only Michael Owen in 2000-01 and Mohamed Salah in 2020-21 (both six) have netted more goals for the Reds in the opening five games of a Premier League season than the Colombian. 

Diaz also registered an expected goals (xG) tally of 0.67 to Liverpool's 1.98 total, while he also recorded the joint-most shots on target (four) with Salah. 

His second goal came courtesy of Trent Alexander-Arnold's pass, with the Reds right-back having now been directly involved in 100 goals as a Liverpool player (19 goals and 81 assists). 

Tottenham recovered from a slow start to see off Brentford 3-1 in Saturday's London derby.

Ange Postecoglou's side fell behind after just 23 seconds at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Bryan Mbeumo superbly volleyed home Keane Lewis-Potter's cross.

However, the hosts hit back seven minutes later through Dominic Solanke's first goal for the club after Mark Flekken parried James Maddison's initial effort directly into his path.

Spurs completed the turnaround in the 28th minute with a swift counter culminating in Brennan Johnson drilling home from a tight angle.

Guglielmo Vicario produced a wonderful reflex save to claw away Kevin Schade's header midway through the second half.

The Tottenham goalkeeper's intervention proved crucial as the hosts wrapped up the victory five minutes from time, as Maddison rounded off another quickfire counter by delicately lobbing a helpless Flekken.

Data Debrief: Bees match Man City, but trouble on their travels continues

Just like against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium last weekend, just over 20 seconds were on the clock when Brentford broke the deadlock.

The Bees became only the second team in Premier League history - after City - to score inside the opening minute of successive matches.

But for their fifth consecutive meeting with Tottenham, the team scoring first did not go on to win the game.

Indeed, Spurs responded brilliantly after back-to-back league losses - including last weekend's north London derby - to condemn Frank's side to a 13th defeat in 17 league matches away from home.

Free-scoring Bayern Munich extended their perfect Bundesliga start, with Michael Olise getting two goals and two assists in a 5-0 victory over Werder Bremen. 

In an extremely one-sided contest, Jamal Musiala, Harry Kane and Serge Gnabry also scored to ensure Bayern ran out comfortable winners and stayed at the top of the Bundesliga.

Vincent Kompany's side have now scored 20 goals in their last three matches in all competitions, and Olise opened the scoring on Saturday, finishing off a lovely flowing move in the 23rd minute.

He turned provider nine minutes later, making an incredible jinking run before setting up Musiala for a simple tap-in.

Olise then teed up Kane for a goal from the edge of the box and netted the fourth in the 60th minute with a delightful side-footed effort into the top corner.

Substitute Serge Gnabry then wrapped up the scoring five minutes later, curling a low shot into the bottom-left corner against his former club.

Data Debrief: Kompany makes flying start

Kompany is just the third Bayern head coach since 2000 to win their first four Bundesliga games in charge (after Niko Kovac and Carlo Ancelotti).

And he will be delighted with the manner in which they claimed this win, with his team having 25 shots, seven of which were on target as they created an expected goals of 3.09.

That is compared to a dismal Bremen performance as they failed to muster a single shot in the match, managing just 10 touches in the opposition box.

West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui was unwilling to defend his side’s form after they were beaten 3-0 by Chelsea in the early Premier League game on Saturday.

That home defeat was the third in a row for West Ham in the league, with their new manager finding himself under pressure after just five matches.

“There is no excuse,” Lopetegui said, when talking to BBC Match of the Day after the match.

"In all of them [the defeats] we can be more consistent. We have to be honest and know that we need to improve, this group of players will improve.

"The only thing we have to say to the fans is thank you. We have to give them things and the only thing you can give is your best."

On the performance itself against Chelsea, Lopetegui was similarly downbeat after West Ham went two goals down within 18 minutes.

“It's a bad day for sure,” said the Hammers manager. "We lost one match where we had big expectations to compete much better.

"It has been soft goals we have suffered. Before the first goal we have a clear chance with [Mohammed] Kudus, but after we have to be more consistent and we cannot accept this action.

"To compete in the Premier League you have to be more consistent. We had more of the ball than them, but the only stat that is important is they had more goals.

“We have to be honest and look at each other to know that we have to change things and to improve things to compete in the Premier League."

West Ham went in at half-time two goals down, but any hopes of a comeback were extinguished almost immediately in the second period.

Cole Palmer scored his second league goal of the season just 68 seconds after the teams got back under way.

"The third goal was key and at half-time, we were thinking one goal would be key for us to believe,” said Lopetegui. "It is true we suffered early on in the second half."

West Ham forward Jarrod Bowen was in a similar mood to his manager when interviewed after the match by TNT Sports.

"We were never in the game, which is an awful thing to say,” he said. "The goals that they scored were easy on our part - two gifts.

"You have to be switched on in every moment. On the pitch it felt quite easy to play through [us], a disappointing day all round.

"Of course, as a player and captain you have to lead and rally everyone together. We gave them too much respect in the end.”

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was full of praise for striker Nicolas Jackson following his brace in their 3-0 victory away to West Ham on Saturday.

The Senegalese’s double came inside the opening 18 minutes of the match, making it Chelsea’s earliest-ever brace scored in a London derby in the Premier League.

“We are 100% happy with Nicolas,” said Maresca, speaking to BBC Sport after full-time.

“Since I arrived here, he’s been very good on the ball in terms of goals and assists… but he also did a fantastic job off the ball.

“We are very happy.”

On the victory itself, which lifted Chelsea to second in the Premier League table prior to the remainder of Saturday’s matches, Maresca said there was still more to come from his players.

“It has been a good game, a good result and the clean sheet was very important. But as I have said many times, we have many things to improve,” he said.

“We can attack better, we can defend better, but overall we are [going] in the right direction.

“I think we can attack better, we can defend better, but especially we can manage the moments better.

“Sometimes, we can do more passes and keep the ball, but it’s a process and we are learning.

“The points are important, but in this moment, the most important thing and the main focus for me is the way we progress.”

Man of the moment Jackson echoed his manager’s sentiments after the match, saying he is concentrating on working hard after reaching four league goals for 2024-25.

"[I am] trying to play for the team every game. I scored two and I am happy - we won which is most important,” he said to TNT Sports.

"We controlled the game early. Always the keepers go one side and it was a good finish [for his opening goal].

"[There has been] plenty of talk and I have been injured for two months, I came back fresh and I hope to get more. I am trying to work hard and do more than last year."

Cole Palmer scored Chelsea’s third goal just over a minute into the second half, but he was quick to draw attention to Jackson’s contribution.

“Everybody knows he is a top player, he needs to keep going,” said Palmer.

“The Chelsea fans and players rate him highly - we know what he is capable of.

"There will always be noise, we try to block it out and listen to the manager. We have a good manager and it can only help us to get better."

Sunderland edged past local rivals Sunderland 1-0 at the Stadium of Light on Saturday to return to winning ways in the Championship.

The Black Cats' four-game winning run to begin the season was ended by Plymouth Argyle last weekend, but they responded well on home soil.

Local lad Chris Rigg, aged just 17, earned Sunderland Wear-Tees bragging rights with an outrageous backheel after 24 minutes.

Middlesbrough had chances but lacked a cutting edge as Sunderland made it three clean sheets from three home league games this season.

The win lifted Regis Le Bris' men back into top spot in the early Championship standings ahead of West Brom facing Plymouth later in the day.

Elsewhere in the early kick-offs, Johannes Thorup earned his first home league win as Norwich City manager in a 4-1 victory over Watford.

The Canaries' only other win this season came on their travels at Coventry City last month, but they were good value for their latest triumph.

Callum Doyle's long-range opener was cancelled out by Ryan Andrews' strike, before Borja Sainz restored the hosts' lead just before half-time.

Marcelino Nunez added a third nine minutes into the second period and Ben Chrisene made certain of the three points late on.

QPR drew 1-1 with London rivals Millwall at Loftus Road, meanwhile, with both sides remaining in the bottom half of the table with one win apiece.

Duncan Watmore rounded off a nice team move to put Millwall ahead after 34 minutes, but Michael Frey poked home a leveller four minutes later and neither side could find a winner.

Hansi Flick insists Barcelona will use "no excuses" when his injury-hit side head to Villarreal for Sunday's LaLiga clash.

Midfielder Fermin Lopez suffered a muscular problem in his right thigh while training on Tuesday, becoming the latest addition to Barca's growing list of injured absentees.

New signing Dani Olmo is sidelined for at least a month with a hamstring injury, alongside fellow midfielders Gavi, Frenkie de Jong and Marc Bernal, and defensive pair Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen.

Though struggling with limited selection options due to the fitness issues plaguing the visitors' squad, Flick is adamant the LaLiga leaders can adapt to find a workaround.

"When we started the season, I said there would be no excuses," Flick said. "We're going to be able to manage the game, although we'll be careful with some players carrying a lot of load.

"Tomorrow we'll manage this, although I'm sure that those who come on will be at 100%. The medical team is helping us and we are taking special care with [Pau] Cubarsi, who has been recovering."

Barcelona have made a perfect start to the LaLiga season under the German, with five straight wins putting them top of the standings, four points ahead of defending champions Real Madrid.

The only blemish on the Blaugrana's record came in Thursday's 2-1 defeat against Monaco, with Eric Garcia dismissed just 10 minutes into the Champions League opener.

"We have a great team, and we have shown it," Flick added. "Every season it's the same, there are weeks when you lose several players, but as a coach, it's something you have to accept.

"Now we have to focus on those who are available to prepare them for the next game."

Flick will at least be able to call upon returning forward Ansu Fati, who has scored four goals in six games against Villarreal in LaLiga, his most against one opponent in the competition.

Fati, along with Raphinha, Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski, will hope to cover the midfield void with their attacking prowess that has propelled Barcelona to success this term.

Indeed, Barcelona are the top-scoring team in Europe's top five leagues this season with 17 goals, a tally that they will aim to add to on Sunday.

Chelsea continued their impressive start to life under Enzo Maresca with a 3-0 win over local rivals West Ham at the London Stadium, as Nicolas Jackson scored twice.

Jackson needed just 18 minutes to breach a porous West Ham defence twice, breaking in behind to produce two composed finishes and leave the hosts with a mountain to climb.

Julen Lopetegui's team briefly improved before half-time but their hopes of a comeback were dashed by Cole Palmer's strike almost immediately after the interval.

While Chelsea are now unbeaten in four league games and sit second in the early-season standings, West Ham remain 14th with four points ahead of Saturday's other fixtures.

Jackson caught West Ham cold with the opener inside four minutes, slotting his finish through Alphonse Areola's legs after being played in by Jadon Sancho, who was making his first Chelsea start after assisting Christopher Nkunku's winner at Bournemouth.

He had his second 14 minutes later, finishing with the outside of his boot after receiving a pinpoint throughball from Moises Caicedo, then he turned provider as the Blues killed the contest early in the second half.

Just 68 seconds after the restart, Jackson scampered over halfway with the home defence retreating, then teed up Palmer to crash his finish into the far corner and cap an enjoyable outing for Maresca's side.

Data Debrief: Two sides to Jackson's game

Jackson was criticised for his wastefulness in his debut season at Stamford Bridge, underperforming his expected goals (xG) figures by a significant margin with 14 Premier League goals from 18.64 xG.

He looks a player reborn under Maresca, though, taking his two early chances with great composure to move to four Premier League goals for the campaign – only Erling Haaland (nine) has more.

He also showed his unselfish side by teeing up Palmer for a crashing finish shortly after the second half began, earning his second assist of the season.

Since the start of last season, Jackson and Palmer have combined for 10 Premier League goals – at least two more than any other duo. Their partnership will continue to be key in this new Chelsea era.

Saint-Etienne defender Leo Petrot branded his side's 8-0 defeat to Nice as a "disgrace" as their struggles continued in Ligue 1 on Friday. 

Dylan Batubinsika's own-goal in the fourth minute was an unfortunate sign of things to come for Olivier Dall’Oglio's side. 

Youssoufa Moukoko's braced followed by strikes from Tanguy Ndombele, Mohamed-Ali Cho and Evann Guessand gave the hosts a comfortable half-time advantage. 

Nice increased their lead after the interval through Sofiane Diop, with Pablo Rosario's penalty four minutes from time rounding off a convincing triumph. 

It was the third time Saint-Etienne had conceded eight goals in a Ligue 1 game after an 8-0 loss to Lille (1946) and a 9-0 defeat to Bordeaux (1951). 

Saint-Etienne have now conceded 15 goals after five league games this season, their highest tally ever at this stage of a top-flight campaign.

"There's no analysis. It's a disgrace what we did," Petrot told DAZN after the defeat. 

"We should be ashamed of ourselves, for our supporters and for all the work we put in," 

"To concede eight goals, to be non-existent in our state of mind and in duels. I don't know what to say."

Petrot said Saint-Etienne would try to put this result behind them as soon as possible ahead of taking on Nantes next week. 

"We've got 10 days to work really hard. We'll be looking ahead to the next game very quickly," Petrot concluded. 

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