Weekend Review: Verstappen’s race of his life as Lookman lights up Diego Maradona

Verstappen and Lookman were both exceptional in their respective sports on a weekend that had it all.

It is a new week, meaning we are back again with some of the biggest talking points in sports from last weekend.

Even though there were not many eye-catching moments last weekend, it was still a weekend to behold for sports lovers.

For tennis lovers, there was no shortage of action, with the Paris Masters and WTA Finals taking centre stage over the weekend.

Meanwhile, the action is heating up in Europe’s top leagues as the pretenders and the contenders are now being separated.

Over in the States, the new NBA season continued with some games, including the Dallas Mavericks’ win over the Orlando Magic.

These are just a few of the many sporting events that went down over the weekend. And as per tradition, we take a look at some of the biggest talking points.

Verstappen shows his class in Brazil

It has been a rough second half of the Formula 1 season for championship leader and defending champion Max Verstappen.

The Dutchman went through a period which saw him go multiple races without winning one, leading Lando Norris to close the gap on him.

However, Verstappen showed why he is currently the number-one driver in the world after driving one of the best races in Formula 1 history.

Initially, it looked like Verstappen’s bad luck would continue after he started in P17 after a five-place grid drop for fitting a new internal combustion engine.

However, Verstappen found strength in adversity, moving to P11 on the first lap before going all the way to P2 in a rain-affected Sau Paulo Grand Prix.

The drama started right from the start when Lance Stroll went off during the formation lap, although the race eventually started with George Russell leading the way.

Verstappen began to work his way up before the race was stopped due to the increasing level of rainfall, which caused Franco Colapinto to crash his car.

The race started a few minutes later but the safety car had to be brought in again after Carlos Sainz crashed his car.

But following the restart, it was Verstappen from that moment as eased past other drivers, driving one of the best races in Formula 1 history to take home the win ahead of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasluy, who finished second and third respectively for Alpine.

The latest victory means Verstappen could retain his title in Las Vegas with a win, irrespective of where Norris finishes.

Lookman makes Diego Maradona his home

The biggest match in Serie A over the weekend was the clash between Napoli and Atalanta at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.

The clash saw Atalanta make the trip to the home of the leaders. Since losing on the first day of the season, Napoli, under Antonio Conte, had not lost in Serie A this season.

However, they were handed their second defeat of the season on Sunday as Atalanta took them to the cleaners.

La Dea were totally dominant, with their Nigerian star, Ademola Lookman, playing a lead role in the win. Fresh from his 14th-place finish in this year’s Ballon d’Or, Lookman put Atalanta ahead in the first half with a superb volley before doubling the advantage with a brilliant strike from outside the box.

His brace ensured Atalanta went into the break with a comfortable lead. The Nigerian now has more goal contributions than any other player in Serie A this year.

Although Napoli tried to find their way back, it was not meant to be for them as Matteo Retegui added the icing on the cake in injury time.

If Ruben Amorim was watching, then he now has an idea of what to expect when takes over as Manchester United’s manager later this month.

The Portuguese manager was announced as United’s new manager last week after Erik Ten Hag was sacked.

But he won’t take over until after this weekend. In his absence, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, who was Ten Hag’s assistant, took charge of United’s game against Chelsea.

Although they did not lose, it’s unlikely that Amorim would have been impressed with what he saw on Sunday evening.

It was one of the most boring matches in Premier League history. It was a game devoid of quality play.

United did take the lead from the penalty spot in the second half through Bruno Fernandes but Moises Caicedo’s brilliant strike, the only interesting about the match, rescued a point for Chelsea.