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My F1 critics don’t have a title-winning mentality, claims Max Verstappen

  • World champion says he will maintain ruthless style
  • Lando Norris takes pole for Saturday’s sprint race

Max Verstappen has defiantly dismissed criticism of his driving in the aftermath of winning his fourth Formula One world title in Las Vegas last weekend.

Speaking before this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix, the penultimate round, the Red Bull driver bullishly insisted he would not change his ruthless style, which has been both penalised and criticised.

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Novak Djokovic admits Andy Murray did not expect coaching call

  • Serb wanted someone who had played at the very top
  • Djokovic confident he is still fit enough to win more slams

Novak Djokovic has revealed Andy Murray was caught off guard when asked to be his new coach, but feels the link-up can only be good for tennis.

Murray retired after this summer’s Olympics at the age of 37 after finally admitting defeat in his battle against injury. It had been suggested the Scot would one day return to tennis and become a coach, due to his love of the sport, hard work and tactical acumen.

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Premiership returns amid fanfare but old problems lurk in background | Michael Aylwin

Despite likely record ticket sales over Christmas, financial and physical health of clubs and players still a concern

With the timing of George Furbank on to a Fin Smith cutout pass, or that of any of the myriad attacking talents in English club rugby, the Premiership’s PR team ushered in the return of domestic fare this weekend by releasing a load of positive numbers. They refrained from deploying a load of exclamation marks too, but a few of those would have been perfectly consistent with the general vibe. The Premiership is back! And it’s never been better!

First, boringly, to debunk some of the hyperbole, most of the stats relating to the uptick in viewing figures and attendances across the first six rounds of this season were positioned relative to last. Apparently, cumulative audiences on TNT Sports are up by 30% on this stage of the season last year; 21,000 more matchday tickets have been sold, an increase of 15%. But the start of last season coincided with the end of a World Cup, which tends to diminish figures for the domestic game.

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‘I have to prove myself now’: Pep Guardiola vows to reverse Manchester City’s slump – video

Pep Guardiola says Manchester City will take it one game at a time before Sunday's Premier League encounter with Liverpool. The champions have not won a match since beating Southampton 1-0 on 26 October, and have lost three straight Premier League games.

Guardiola said: 'We will be back, I know that ... I know the people say: "Why is Pep not in trouble, why is he not sacked?" I have this margin because of what we have done over the last eight years.' Despite his track record – City have won the past four Premier League titles – he said: 'I have to prove myself now.'

‘I have this margin’: Pep Guardiola feels protected from sack by past success

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