Leclerc on top as Ferrari take 1-2 in Monza opening practice

Monza, Italy: Charles Leclerc topped the times ahead of his team-mate Lewis Hamilton as Ferrari registered a clear 1-2 to dominate Friday's opening practice on home soil at the Italian Grand Prix.

Leclerc, sporting a special livery to celebrate Michael Schumacher's first Monza win 30 years ago, clocked a fastest lap of one minute and 23.008 seconds to outpace the seven-time champion by 0.173sec with Mercedes' George Russell adrift by three-tenths of a second in third.

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli was fifth for Mercedes ahead of McLaren's world champion Lando Norris, but the Briton's team-mate Oscar Piastri came in 11th in the second McLaren. sportnewz.click

Ferrari's performance, using upgraded engines, delighted their fans at the historic high-speed circuit with Hamilton hoping to take advantage of Antonelli's engine penalties that will see him start from the back of the grid.

Hamilton and Russell trail the 20-year-old Italian by 59 points in the title race and can trim his lead substantially if he is unable to gain a high points-scoring finish.

Four rookies were in action -- Ayuma Iwasa deputising for Max Verstappen at Red Bull, Luke Browning for Alex Albon at Williams, Paul Aron for Pierre Gasly at Alpine and Colton Herta for Sergio Perez at Cadillac.

As the drivers settled in, the result of the International Court of Appeal relating to the Monaco Grand Prix was announced with McLaren and Red Bull succeeding in overturning the outcome.

This meant that Gasly, who had finished third after an appeal by Alpine, had his post-race penalties reinstated and was replaced in third position by Hadjar and a reshuffled result saw him drop to his original seventh place.

Paris, France: Paris Saint-Germain's slow start to the French season continued on Friday as the reigning European champions went in front only to lose 2-1 at home to Monaco, who are top of Ligue 1.

Captain Marquinhos gave PSG the lead just past the half-hour mark at the Parc des Princes, where Luis Enrique's team were playing in front of their own fans for the first time in this campaign.

But Monaco hit back in the second half as Flavio Nazinho equalised before Belgian winger Stanis Idumbo fired in the winner for the principality side, who are top of the early standings with three wins from three.

PSG, who announced before kick-off that coach Luis Enrique had signed a three-year contract extension to stay at the club until 2030, will begin their bid to win a third consecutive Champions League title next midweek at home to Slovan Bratislava.Paris Saint-Germain's French forward #10 Ousmane Dembele (L) and Monaco's Moroccan midfielder #47 Safouane Benzahra fight for the ball during the French L1 football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and AS Monaco at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on September 4, 2026. (Photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP)

However, they will do so off the back of a stuttering start domestically, with just two points on the board three games into their latest Ligue 1 title defence -- that leaves them seven points behind Monaco already.

The Qatar-owned club beat Aston Villa last month to win the UEFA Super Cup, but then lost to Lens in the French Champions Trophy before drawing their first two Ligue 1 outings, away to Rennes and Lille respectively.

They had come from two goals down late on in both of those games, with Marquinhos grabbing a last-gasp leveller a week ago in Lille.

The Brazilian defender, PSG's captain, opened the scoring here on 31 minutes when he converted Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's ball across the face of goal with his chest.

PSG looked on course at that point for a welcome victory against a Monaco side coming off a turbulent week.

The principality side, now coached by Brazilian ex-Atletico Madrid defender Filipe Luis, had been hoping to make a big sale to the Premier League before the transfer window closed to offset failing to qualify for this season's Champions League.

Balogun missing

But they were left reeling as United States World Cup star Folarin Balogun backed out of an agreed £40 million ($54 million) transfer to Everton on deadline day.

That was just after Monaco had pulled out of a deal to sell Lamine Camara to Chelsea, when they were banking on Balogun finalising his move.

Balogun, who was at the centre of controversy at the World Cup after US President Donald Trump successfully intervened to force FIFA to suspend a red card so he could play against Belgium in the last 16, was left out here and has not played for his club this season.

Senegal midfielder Camara did feature for the visitors, who drew level on 58 minutes when Portuguese left-back Nazinho headed in at the back post from a Jordan Teze delivery.Monaco's English defender #15 Eric Dier (C) and Monaco's Swiss midfielder #06 Denis Zakaria celebreate their win at the end of the French L1 football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and AS Monaco at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on September 4, 2026. (Photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP)

That was Monaco's reward for a good start to the second half, and they went ahead on 72 minutes when Aleksandr Golovin supplied Idumbo and he beat Matvey Safonov at the goalkeeper's near post.

It is the second season running in which PSG have lost at home to Monaco, with the introduction off the bench late on of reigning Ballon d'Or Ousmane Dembele and Spain World Cup final hero Ferran Torres not enough to save the hosts.

Torres had a late goal disallowed for an offside against Dembele, before the latter was denied by a superb Lukas Hradecky save deep in stoppage time.

Lyon beat Auxerre 3-1 earlier and are in second place, two points behind Monaco and level on points with Lille who won 1-0 at Toulouse on Thursday thanks to an Ayase Ueda goal.

DOHA: Qatar’s men’s basketball team is stepping up preparations for the upcoming Asian Games Aichi–Nagoya 2026, with the team aiming for a strong showing in one of the continent’s biggest sporting events.

The Games will be held in Japan from September 19 to October 4, but the men’s 5×5 basketball competition will begin earlier at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya. Qatar will open its Group B campaign against Iran on Thursday, September 10, at 4:00 a.m. Doha time.

Qatar will then face Jordan on September 12 at 7:00 a.m. before taking on Chinese Taipei at the same time on September 13. Group A features Japan, Korea, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, while Group C comprises China, the Philippines, Bahrain and Kazakhstan.

The quarter-finals are scheduled for September 16, followed by the semifinals on September 18. The competition will conclude on September 20 with the third-place playoff and final.

Paris, France: Head coach Luis Enrique has agreed a three-year contract extension with two-time defending European champions Paris Saint-Germain, the Ligue 1 giants announced Friday.

The Spaniard's previous deal had been due to expire at the end of this season, but he has signed a new contract lasting until 2030.

The news was announced ahead of PSG's Ligue 1 match against Monaco at the Parc des Princes, with players Joao Neves, Fabian Ruiz, Willian Pacho, Lucas Beraldo and Senny Mayulu all also penning contract extensions.

"They represent the present and the future of our club's project," PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi said in a statement.

"Together, we're aiming to build for the long term, to remain true to our values, and to continue writing a story that our supporters can be proud of."

Luis Enrique, joined by those five Champions League winners, was given a raucous reception from the home fans when the announcement was made. PSG went on to lose the game 2-1, to leave them still without a win three matches into the new Ligue 1 season.

"It is not the best moment to talk about this but what I can say is that it is the first time in my career -- and I am an old coach -- in which I have stayed more than three years in the same club," said the 56-year-old after the match.

"I am more motivated now than I was in my first year here, which is bizarre for me. I am very happy and I hope to be up to the job."

The former Barcelona and Spain boss was appointed PSG coach ahead of the 2023/24 season, tasked with leading them to a long-awaited maiden European Cup.

He achieved that with a stunning 5-0 final victory over Inter Milan in the 2025 Champions League final, before Paris successfully defended their title by beating Arsenal on penalties in May.

PSG have also won three Ligue 1 titles and two French Cups since Luis Enrique replaced Christophe Galtier at the helm.

Spanish World Cup winner Ruiz has extended his deal until the end of next season, with an optional extra year.

Portugal midfielder Neves, Brazilian defender Beraldo, Ecuador centre-half Pacho and youngster Mayulu have all signed deals until 2031.