MONZA, Italy: Runaway Formula One leader Max Verstappen secured a record 10th straight win with victory at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday, with a Red Bull one-two on Ferrari’s home track.
“That’s a nice stat,” Verstappen said on team radio immediately after the win.
Another flawless performance from the two-time defending champion saw Verstappen beat teammate Sergio Pérez by 6.064 seconds. Carlos Sainz Jr. was third, 11.193 behind Verstappen and less than two tenths of a second ahead of Charles Leclerc as the two Ferrari drivers battled for the final spot on Monza’s iconic podium.
“I never would have believed that was possible but we had to work for it today and that made it definitely a lot more fun,” Verstappen said.
Verstappen had started second, behind Sainz, but eventually got past him at the start of lap 15 and from then on — just like the rest of the season — no one could match the Red Bull pace.
The record became all but a foregone conclusion as Verstappen began to pull away, swiftly building an advantage of more than five seconds five laps later.
“Very tough, very tough. It can’t get any tougher than it was today,” Sainz said. “To keep up with the Red Bulls, I paid the price with the rear tires but I did everything I could to defend.”
The victory also saw Verstappen increase his huge championship lead to 145 points in a crushingly dominant season for the 25-year-old Dutchman.
Verstappen has won 12 of the 14 races for unbeaten Red Bull and matched Sebastian Vettel’s F1 record of nine straight victories last weekend at the Dutch GP. He is closing in on his own F1 record of 15 wins set last year and onto 47 overall.
Pérez has the other two victories this season and Red Bull has also won 24 of the past 25 races, including last year.
There are eight more races remaining for Red Bull to try to complete the first perfect year by a F1 team.
“I’m very proud also of the whole team effort, the whole year already,” Verstappen said. “What we are doing at the moment, winning every race this year, it’s something that we definitely are enjoying because I don’t think these kind of seasons come around very often.
“That’s the same of course with winning 10 in a row.”
It was a second straight victory for Verstappen at Monza. Before last year he had never finished the Italian GP higher than fifth.
His record bid got off to a slightly delayed start, however, as Yuki Tsunoda went off on the formation lap with a suspected power unit failure. There had to be an aborted start and, with the drivers effectively doing three formation laps, the race was shortened by two laps.
Ferrari was hopeful of its first win at the Temple of Speed since 2019 and Sainz, who turned 29 on Friday, got off to a great start as he held off Verstappen into the first corner — much to the delight of the thousands of passionate red-clad tifosi.
Sainz managed to defend several attempts by Verstappen to get past in a tense fight between the two. That didn’t last long, however, as Sainz locked his brakes going into the first chicane on lap 15 and that allowed Verstappen to get past him on the exit and pull away.
Sainz was left to fend off Perez for second place but lost that battle too with four laps remaining and was then forced to fight hard again to keep Leclerc behind for the final podium place.
“Very happy because a P3 in Monza in front of the tifosi is as good as it can get, at least for this weekend because clearly Red Bull were in the end quite a bit quicker than us today as we expected,” Sainz said. “It was a day to try, and I tried everything I could to keep them behind.”
George Russell was fifth, ahead of Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, despite both drivers receiving five-second penalties in separate incidents.
Alex Albon matched his best finish of the season with seventh. Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso and Valtteri Bottas completed the top 10.
Max Verstappen wins Italian Grand Prix for record 10th straight F1 victory
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Max Verstappen wins Italian Grand Prix for record 10th straight F1 victory
- Verstappen had started second, behind Sainz, but eventually got past him at the start of lap 15
Saudi sports minister, IOC chief meet in Riyadh
- Visit is Bach’s third to Saudi Arabia since being elected as the IOC’s president in 2013
RIYADH: Minister of sports and president of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SOPC) received the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, upon his arrival in the Kingdom on Saturday.
The Olympic chief and Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz held their meeting in Riyadh.
The visit is Bach’s third to Saudi Arabia since being elected as the IOC’s president in 2013.
The visit underscores the robust relationship between the two sides, in line with Saudi Vision 2030, Saudi Press Agency reported.
The vision has positioned the Kingdom as a permanent hub for global sports through the hosting of several significant sporting events.
Among these are the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games 2025, the Asian Winter Games TROJENA 2029, and the Asian Games Riyadh 2034, in addition to numerous championships and sporting events.
Aston Villa topple Arsenal and extend record home win streak
- Villa made John McGinn’s seventh-minute goal stand up in the latest standout victory for Unai Emery’s high-flying team
- Villa are third on the table, a point behind second-placed Arsenal
BIRMINGHAM, England: Aston Villa beat Arsenal 1-0 and moved within two points of new English Premier League leader Liverpool on Saturday.
Villa made John McGinn’s seventh-minute goal stand up in the latest standout victory for Unai Emery’s high-flying team, which upset defending champion Manchester City by the same scoreline on Wednesday.
Arsenal led the league at the start of the day but could not find a way through a Villa team that are proving to be a match for anyone on home turf. Villa have a club-record 15 straight home wins in the league.
Villa are third on the table, a point behind second-placed Arsenal.
The only other league managers to record 15-game winning streaks at home were Manchester United great Alex Ferguson, Roberto Mancini, Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola.
Villa went ahead after Leon Bailey broke down the right and played in McGinn, who turned and beat Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.
Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez denied Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus from equalizing before the break.
Arsenal almost levelled in the second half when Martinez looked to claim a corner, but palmed the ball into the back of Ollie Watkins and it hit the post.
Bukayo Saka had a goal ruled out for offside and Kai Havertz thought he salvaged a point in the last minute, but was adjudged to have handled the ball.
Ten Hag blasts ‘inconsistent’ Man Utd after Bournemouth misery
- Ten Hag’s side slumped to an embarrassing 3-0 defeat that underlined the array of problems threatening to ruin United’s season
- “Of course, annoyed and disappointed, definitely. I expected something different,” Ten Hag said
MANCHESTER, United Kingdom : Erik ten Hag blasted his “inconsistent” Manchester United charges after Bournemouth made history with their first ever victory at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Ten Hag’s side slumped to an embarrassing 3-0 defeat that underlined the array of problems threatening to ruin United’s season.
Just three days after beating Chelsea to revive their bid for a top four finish in the Premier League, United reverted to the sloppy form that has plagued them for much of the campaign.
Goals from Dominic Solanke, Philip Billing and Marcos Senesi handed Bournemouth a memorable win as Ten Hag and his players were booed off at full-time.
With the pressure mounting on Ten Hag with each defeat in his troubled second season as United boss, the Dutchman slammed his team’s lacklustre performance.
“Of course, annoyed and disappointed, definitely. I expected something different,” Ten Hag said.
“I hoped before the game you can build on the performance and result from Chelsea, so then it’s very disappointing.
“That (consistency) is of course the question, but I think we have to always be ready for the game, so I have to take the responsibility for that.
“I have to prepare my team so that they are ready for the game, so from my point of view I’m very disappointed the way we started so I have to do the things better.”
United have now lost 35 home league games since Alex Ferguson retired at the end of the 2012-13 title-winning season.
During the iconic 26-year reign of the Scottish manager, United were only beaten in the league at Old Trafford 34 times
Ten Hag shouldered much of the responsibility for United’s 11th defeat in all competitions this term.
But alarmingly for United fans, the former Ajax boss conceded he did not believe his squad were consistent enough to thrive at the highest level.
“We are really inconsistent. We have the abilities to do it, but you have to do it every game and every third day,” he said.
“I think as a squad we are not good enough to be consistent and we have to work as a squad to improve that.”
It was an eye-catching remark at the end of a week that began with reports that some United players had grown unhappy with the manager.
Ten Hag denied those claims but, with his team mired in sixth place, he desperately needs some positive results quickly.
United host Bayern Munich in the Champions League next week knowing they must win to have any chance of progressing to the last 16.
A trip to in-form Liverpool in the Premier League follows the Bayern clash.
“As a group, we have to improve,” Ten Hag said. “That’s a fact. We have to get tougher, that we are ready for the game and from the start.
“I said on Friday, it can’t be in this league that you are not playing on the highest levels because you get killed.
“That’s what happened in the five minutes and then you are following facts and especially against them, such a good transition team, you make life easy for them. They have the perfect conditions to play in.
“Then you see the team fighting, battling, put a lot of effort in for a long period to return in the game, but it can’t happen that you so easily concede a goal.”
Jude Bellingham scores again as Real Madrid held to draw at Betis
- Bellingham’s transformation into a clinical finisher with a league-leading 12 goals has kept Madrid at the top of the standings
- He has 16 goals in 18 games between the domestic competition and the Champions League
BARCELONA, Spain: Jude Bellingham kept up his great scoring form since joining Real Madrid but his strike was not enough to save the injury-hit Spanish leaders from dropping points in a 1-1 draw at Real Betis on Saturday.
The England midfielder used his chest to cushion a nifty pass from Brahim Díaz before slotting under Betis goalkeeper Rui Silva to open the scoring in the 53rd minute.
Bellingham’s transformation into a clinical finisher with a league-leading 12 goals has kept Madrid at the top of the standings. He has 16 goals in 18 games between the domestic competition and the Champions League, compared to 14 goals in 42 games in all of last season for Borussia Dortmund.
Betis right back Aitor Ruibal equalized in the 66th from outside the right corner of the box with a powerful looping strike that sailed past goalkeeper Andriy Lunin.
The draw left Madrid atop the table, but Girona were just one point behind before they visit third-placed Barcelona on Sunday in a clash of Catalan clubs.
“Ruibal scored a fantastic goal and they drew level with us. (But) I am satisfied. You can’t always win,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said after his team’s run of five wins overall came to an end.
Both sides had late chances to snatch the victory. Former Madrid playmaker Isco Alarcón headed off the woodwork for Betis and Madrid substitute Joselu Mato shot inches wide.
Ruibal, an attacking player who has converted into a defender, had trouble keeping up with Madrid’s Rodrygo early on. But he showed his scorer’s instinct when he blasted home the equalizer on a counterattack that started when Bellingham lost the ball.
“To take a point against this rival, we have to be happy. The team competed like real animals,” Ruibal said. “I didn’t even think twice (before shooting).”
Ancelotti started Luka Modric after the veteran midfielder missed two games with a thigh problem. Modric, who has seen his playing time dwindle, appeared to be angry when he was substituted shortly after Ruibal’s goal.
Lunin started for Madrid even though Kepa Arrizabalaga was back in the squad after recovering from a minor injury. Kepa joined Madrid at the start of the season after regular starter Thibaut Courtois tore a knee ligament.
“Lunin played well and I am giving him confidence, but we will see who plays in the next game,” Ancelotti said about Tuesday’s Champions League group stage game at Union Berlin.
Betis remained in seventh. Manuel Pellegrini’s team are undefeated in nine consecutive league games at their Benito Villamarín Stadium.
Eighth-placed Las Palmas won at Alaves 1-0 as the Canary Islands club continues to impress since returning to the top-flight.
Bayern thrashed by Eintracht Frankfurt in Bundesliga
- In a wet and wild contest in Frankfurt, the hosts raced into an extraordinary 3-0 first-half lead
- Leaders Bayer Leverkusen travel to third-place Stuttgart on Sunday
BERLIN: Bayern Munich suffered a jolt to their title defense, losing their first league game of the season 5-1 in Frankfurt and handing Bayer Leverkusen the chance to open a six-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga.
In a wet and wild contest in Frankfurt, the hosts raced into an extraordinary 3-0 first-half lead, with Omar Marmoush, Junior Dina Ebimbe, and Hugo Larsson scoring the goals as Dino Toppmoeller’s side outmuscled a timid Bayern.
Joshua Kimmich dragged Bayern back into the match just before half-time but French midfielder Ebimbe had other ideas, capping a scintillating counter-attack after a mistake by Dayot Upamecano to make it four.
Ansgar Knauff added a fifth to put the game out of reach for Thomas Tuchel’s side to complete a memorable performance for Frankfurt, who become the first team to score five goals against Bayern in the first 60 minutes of a league game since Frankfurt themselves, in 1975.
Leaders Bayer Leverkusen travel to third-place Stuttgart on Sunday on a weekend when six of the Bundesliga’s top seven face each other.
Union Berlin won their first game since August 26 with a 3-1 victory over Borussia Moenchengladbach ensuring a winning start in the Bundesliga under new coach Nenad Bjelica.
The Croatian coach ran down the touchline to join the celebrations with his players as the team climbed to 15th.
Elsewhere, Werder Bremen arrested a four-game winless slump with a 2-0 win over Augsburg, secured by Niklas Stark’s first-half strike and Marvin Ducksch’s, midway through the second.
Heidenheim edged out Darmstadt with a 3-2 win in a meeting of two of the newly-promoted strugglers. Jan Schoeppner scored twice for Heidenheim, which leaves Darmstadt winless in seven Bundesliga games.
Freiburg sneaked a 1-0 win in Wolfsburg ahead of the day’s headline clash between Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig.
