JOE DOWNES AT SUZUKA: Lewis Hamilton's woeful start allowed Nico Rosberg to coast to victory at the Japanese Grand Prix and edge closer to a maiden world title. The German was left with the simplest of tasks to claim his maiden win at Suzuka, his ninth this season and his fourth in the last five races. Hamilton was down in eighth place at the end of lap one as his troubles off the line this term continued. He recovered to finish third but now trails Mercedes team-mate Rosberg by 33 points with just four races remaining and a maximum 100 points up for grabs.
Bloodied and battered Bisping survives horrific onslaught to claim revenge on Henderson and retain UFC title in Manchester homecoming
WILL GRIFFEE IN MANCHESTER: Seven years after Dan Henderson won their first meeting in Las Vegas, Michael Bisping was able to exact revenge in front of his home crowd in the early hours of Sunday morning. He had to do it the hard way, though, as he picked himself up off the canvas after being taken down by Henderson right hands on two occasions..
It's my fault: Hamilton admits he was to blame for abysmal start in Japan due to too much wheel spin
'Henderson hits hard... he's a legend': Bisping praises old rival as he shows off shocking battle scars around his eye
Michael Bisping was heavy in his praise for veteran fighter Dan Henderson and the Manchester crowd after successfully defending his middleweight title at UFC 204. The 37-year-old famously lost to Henderson at UFC 100 seven years ago, but made no mistake this time with a convincing win following a unanimous decision. After the fight, Bisping was delighted with his own performance, but said that the energy and commitment shown by the fans got him through some tough situations.
Giggs hits back at 'underwhelming interview' claims and says Swansea 'did not meet my ambition'
Ryan Giggs has hit back at claims he had a poor interview with Swansea saying: 'They did not meet my ambition.' Giggs was a contender for the job after the Swans sacked Francesco Guidolin.
Sturridge and Alli strike to fire Southgate's England to victory in his first game in charge over minnows Malta at Wembley
ENGLAND 2-0 MALTA BY ROB DRAPER AT WEMBLEY:We will, perhaps, hold off on calls for a knighthood just for now. After all, Sam Allardyce won his first game for England. Gareth Southgate can at least make it to Tuesday night in Slovenia and complete a second game before we start to assess his suitability to become a peer of the realm. But as auditions go, Southgate did just about alright; no more than that.
PLAYER RATINGS: Henderson incisive in his passing but Walcott struggles
Gareth Southgate's reign as England's interim boss begun with a comfortable World Cup qualifying victory over Malta. Sportsmail's ADAM CRAFTON was at Wembley to rate the Three Lions.
OLIVER HOLT: Southgate off to perfect start as he avoids Malta banana skin and proves just because he is polite, he isn't weak
OLIVER HOLT AT WEMBLEY: A few minutes before kick-off, just before the England caretaker manager left the home dressing room with his team, the loud-speaker system played an old favourite. 'Three Lions on a Shirt,' blared out around the stadium and 20 years in the life of Gareth Southgate fell away to a time when he was walking out here in a kit, not a three-piece suit. Southgate was a member of Terry Venables' side at Euro 96, the last time there was real excitement or genuine optimism about England's chances of actually winning a tournament.
Lingard was tidy without wow factor on England debut... but discipline showed why Mourinho likes him
SAMI MOKBEL: This disciplined display an example of why Mourinho has shown such faith in the 23-year-old. Lingard's value isn't always the easiest to spot; but Mourinho certainly has.
Open Hart: Controversial City exit still frustrates the England No 1 as he looks to rebuild his career in Italy with Torino
ROB DRAPER: Joe Hart is pretty frank about his move to Torino in Serie A this season. He is in the land of Dino Zoff, Gianluigi Buffon and Walter Zenga and is asked whether that may have been a factor in choosing Italy. 'It was but I'm not going to lie,' he says. 'I wasn't sat there with 25 options. I wasn't. Torino was a really good option for me and it definitely excited me to go to play in Serie A and to play for Torino. That fit, in the situation I was in, was a good decision.
Muller bags brace either side of a Kroos strike as Germany maintain impressive qualifying start
GERMANY 3-0 CZECH REPUBLIC: Germany recorded their second successive 3-0 win in a comfortable start to their Group C World Cup qualifying campaign. Thomas Muller bagged a brace while Toni Kroos was also on target for Joachim Low's men, who inflicted an identical defeat on Norway last month and host Northern Ireland in their next qualifier on Tuesday.
Charnley signs off from rugby league with the winning try for Wigan at Old Trafford
WARRINGTON 6-12 WIGAN BY NIK SIMON AT OLD TRAFFORD: Old Trafford proved to be the theatre of Josh Charnley's wildest dreams. On his final game in rugby league, the Wigan winger scored the winning try to bid a Grand Farewell in the Grand Final. Coming back from 6-2 down against Warrington, Charnley collected Dan Sarginson's kick in the 63rd minute to score in his last outing before his code switch to Sale Sharks.
Australia scrum-half Phipps pushes over Argentina physio in moment of madness
Nick Phipps caused a second-half brawl when he shoved over an Argentinean physio at Twickenham. The replacement scrum-half saw the medic trying to pick up the ball when Australia were awarded an penalty and went for him, pushing him to the ground. The Pumas winger Matias Moroni was so incensed that he ran 30 metres to confront the Wallaby, and then a 20-man shoving contest began.
STARS OF SPORT
- Stop being Charlie Big B******* Neymar! Bolivia defender Yasmani Duk is refusing to apologise to Brazil star Neymar after elbowing him in the head
- Bisping beats Henderson to retain middleweight title at UFC 204 in Manchester Bisping got revenge on his old foe with a unanimous victory
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Jordi Cruyff believes iconic father Johan would be a Manchester City fan today
Football legend Johan Cruyff sadly died of lung cancer in March this year
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Hargreaves: A future watching the other guys get stuck in... I'll drink to that!
Alistair Hargreaves on his decision to quit rugby due to fears for his health
- Coleman warns kids about the big, bad world of football Irishman is 27 now and one of the senior players in manager Ronald Koeman's Everton team
MORE STARS OF SPORT
- Zlatan masks up and insists he has 'no free time' Zlatan Ibrahimovic is keeping himself fit during the two week international break
- I want to earn respect! Bradley unveiled as Swansea's new boss Bob Bradley becomes the first American to take a job at a Premier League club
- Hollywood meets... Kane! Tottenham star and Wahlberg have a catch up The England striker is currently sidelined with an ankle injury
- Burns' night in Glasgow as Ricky holds on to world title Ricky Burns claimed victory by unanimous decision as he beat Kiryl Relikh in Glasgow
- 'Manchester let's f****** do this!' Bisping raring to go at UFC 204 Michael Bisping was at his provocative best as he came face to face with Dan Henderson
- Careful, Greg! Golf great Norman gets his chainsaw out to clear mess from Hurricane Matthew... despite nearly losing his arm in horrific accident Back in the game
- Football's furry friends! From awkward embraces to affectionate hugs, we celebrate mascots in brilliant images... with managers Hilarity ensues
- Valencia chased by police after being carried off injured on medical buggy as child support row continues Took a turn for the bizarre
- Pogba looks to rediscover his form while away on international duty The midfielder took part in a training session with France on Thursday
- Sidelined Messi relaxes with family at the movies Argentina will be without Messi for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Peru and Paraguay
- Found a new career, Fernando? Alonso serves sushi to Button in Tokyo The pair are preparing for the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday
- Suspended All Blacks star Smith admits 'huge error' in tearful apology After he was caught 'having sex with a woman in a disabled toilet at airport'
- Hamilton jokes that 'this s*** is killing me' as he uses Snapchat bunny filter to amuse himself during press call Childishness ahead of Japanese GP
- Neymar left in a bloodied mess as Brazil superstar is flattened during Brazil's 5-0 romp with Coutinho and Firmino both scoring Brazil hammered Bolivia
- FORE! Lingard should stick to football as United youngster sends driver flying during golf session Winger reacted with a mixture of shock and embarrassment
- Joshua vs Klitschko could be finalised next week with winter mega-bout on the cards Ukrainian also said Tyson Fury is 'dragging boxing through the mud'
- Gayle hangs tough as West Indies all rounder hits the gym Preparing for his individual schedule on the T20 circuit in unusual fashion
- Henderson, Stones and Dier take a break from England duty with a round of golf England stars enjoyed a round of golf at The Belfry on Wednesday
- Redknapp plays football with Scottish schoolchildren... after a round of golf with Gullit Jamie Redknapp took time out of his participation in the golf
- Wagner was Klopp's best man... and he's led Huddersfield to the top of the Championship David Wagner could easily pass as stunt double for Jurgen Klopp
- Nine Premier League legends in one photo... and just the 1,260 goals between them! Premier League legends joined together in London
- Secret Southgate: How a 'posh' boy who fancied a career in journalism survived jokes about his nose to make it to top Gareth Southgate is now in charge of England
- Alli gets the better of pal Dier with secret nutmeg in England training Dele Alli and Eric Dier's friendship has been well-documented
- Back to black: City's Guardiola and Duggan share moment to forget after pitching up to photoshoot wearing similar outfits Saw the funny side
- Inside Savage's old farmhouse: Countryside home up for sale for £1.65m complete with five bathrooms Cottage annexe and a snooker and TV room
- Ozil says 'sometimes I have to be selfish' as he watches Arsenal's 3-0 win over United while co-commentating alongside Cazorla Last season's triumph
- Manchester United fear love split is behind Martial's slump in form United are concerned Anthony Martial's turbulent private life is to blame for his dip in form
- Neymar and team-mates in relaxed mood as Brazil warm up for Bolivia clash Brazil warmed up for their latest World Cup qualifier
- France prepare to take on Bulgaria and Holland in World Cup qualifiers France continued preparations for their World Cup qualifying double header
- Tennis rogue Kyrgios shows caring side by coming to sick fan's aid with water bottle Kyrgios sent some water up to the injured spectator
LATEST MATCH REPORTS
- England 2-0 Malta: Daniel Sturridge and Dele Alli strike to fire Gareth Southgate to victory in his first game in charge over plucky minnows
- Scotland 1-1 Lithuania: Scots booed off despite sub James McArthur salvaging a point with last-gasp strike
- Northern Ireland 4-0 San Marino: Steven Davis, Kyle Lafferty and Jamie Ward ensure Michael O'Neill's side beat 10-man opposition
- Slovenia 1-0 Slovakia: Substitute Rok Kronaveter scores winner with first touch to seal well-earned victory
- Portugal 6-0 Andorra: Cristiano Ronaldo scores FOUR in rout as minnows have two men sent off for kicking Real Madrid star
- France 4-1 Bulgaria: Antoine Griezmann and Kevin Gameiro double act gets 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign back on track
- Belgium 4-0 Bosnia: Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and Toby Alderweireld get The Red Devils back to winning ways under Roberto Martinez
- Holland 4-1 Belarus: Vincent Janssen stunner caps dominant display
- Austria 2-2 Wales: Marko Arnautovic strikes twice to leave Chris Coleman's men to settle for a point in Vienna after the visitors had led through Joe Allen and a Kevin Wimmer own goal
- Republic of Ireland 1-0 Georgia: Seamus Coleman secures Martin O'Neill's side narrow win in Dublin
- Italy 1-1 Spain: Daniele de Rossi rescues draw with late penalty after Vitolo opener in glamour World Cup qualifier
- Kazakhstan U21 0-1 England U21: Demarai Gray hits early effort as Aidy Boothroyd's Young Lions secure qualification for Euro 2017
- Celta Vigo 4-3 Barcelona: Luis Enrique's side falter again in La Liga title race as Catalan giants suffer second defeat of season
- Burnley 0-1 Arsenal: Laurent Koscielny's last gasp winner marks Arsene Wenger's 20th anniversary
FOOTBALL NEWS
Cruyff believes father Johan would be a Man City fan today and says it is a matter of time before Guardiola is successful in England
ROB DRAPER: It is almost as if the man himself is there. The question has been raised as to whether Johan Cruyff, shortly before his death in March this year, would have had any concerns about Pep Guardiola adapting to English football. In the room is his son, Jordi, and he says his father was able to talk with Guardiola about the new challenge in his career shortly before he died.
Wagner is composing a sweet Yorkshire symphony at Huddersfield and has them flying at the top of the Championship
ROB DRAPER - INTERVIEW: Perhaps a German succeeding in Yorkshire is not quite as surprising as it might appear. After all, the German culture of speaking your mind means that people can seem a little blunt at times. So it might explain why David Wagner is thriving at Huddersfield Town.
Masked man Zlatan claims 'there is no free time' as he keeps fit during international break
Zlatan Ibrahimovic claims there is 'no free time' for a top level sportsman, only 'hard work and objectives' as he keeps himself fit during the two week international break. The 35-year-old may be retired from the international game, but shows that despite heading into the latter stages of his career he has no intentions of slowing down.
The Premier League's forgotten men: From Sanogo to Ings and Carroll to Mikel, here are 10 players who have fallen off the radar
Have you glanced at a Premier League squad list this season and thought - 'How on earth is he still there?' As hard as managers try to keep their squads happy through rotation, there are always some who play so rarely that you'd almost forgotten they exist. We take a look at 10 forgotten men in this season's Premier League squads.
Are Wales' woeful team photos a prank? Bale laughs off suggestion of in-joke after latest hilariously bad pre-match line-up
Gareth Bale admits Wales are rubbish at posing for pre-game team pictures - but plans to focus better when the real action starts against Georgia on Sunday. Wales have become a photographer's nightmare with their wonky line-ups ahead of kick-off but Bale refused to give the game away when asked if it has become a deliberate prank.
Northern Ireland 4-0 San Marino: Davis, Lafferty and Ward ensure O'Neill's side beat 10-man minnows
CHRIS WHEELER AT WINDSOR PARK: San Marino were never likely to spoil the party, especially with 10 men, but it still needed three late goals from Northern Ireland to kill off the underdogs
OTHER SPORTS NEWS
Hargreaves on his decision to quit rugby due to health fears... A future watching the other guys get stuck in, I'll drink to that
SAM PETERS: It would be so easy for Alistair Hargreaves to feel bitter on Sunday as he watches from the sidelines at Allianz Park. Forced to retire from the game he loves at the age of 30 after suffering five concussions in two years, the former Saracens captain and second row would be forgiven for resenting the hand he has been dealt. Not a bit of it.
Burns earns right for Broner fight after defence of his WBA world super-lightweight title in Glasgow
Ricky Burns could turn his attention to a big-money Las Vegas fight with Adrien Broner after his successful mandatory defence of his WBA world super-lightweight title against Kiryl Relikh in Glasgow. A meeting with the four-weight champion from the US was the incentive for the 33-year-old from Coatbridge, who had to work hard against the Belarusian to keep the belt he won in May.
Stokes is relishing his new-found responsibility as England vice-captain
PAUL NEWMAN IN DHAKA: Trevor Bayliss identified Ben Stokes as the heartbeat of his young England side as soon as he took charge last summer and rarely has he demonstrated it more vividly than with his decisive intervention in the thrilling first one-day international. Stokes is used to influencing games with bat, ball and in the field but now, in his new role as acting vice-captain to Jos Buttler, he proved equally adept with words just as Bangladesh looked poised to cruise to an opening victory here.
RACING
THE BEST WRITING IN SPORT
Meet football's most madcap owners: Heard the one about the 'manager eater', the Chairman Mao quoter and the one who threatened to chop off an agent's b****?
Having the influence of an owner over a football club has been a reality since the sport left its amateur beginnings and took on a more professional guise. It has not just been in modern times that owners have hit the back pages for the wrong reasons either. Brian Clough used to regularly rail against directors and those he perceived as not being footballing men. However, while some owners may clash with managers or sell the wrong player at the wrong time, there is a big difference between that and the more incredible custodians that the game has managed to bring forth. From sacking after sacking to quoting Chairman Mao, Sportsmail has put together a guide to football's most madcap owners.