Weekend Review: Lando Norris lays down the challenge as Newcastle end trophy drought

Lando Norris and Newcastle dominated the headlines on another weekend that had everything for sports fans. 

It was a weekend that saw the first Formula 1 race of the year, which was full of adrenaline from start to finish. Meanwhile, the finals of the Indian Wells also took place, with two surprising winners emerging. 

On the men’s side, Jack Draper won his first Masters’ title as he beat Holger Rune in straight sets, 6-2 6-2. Draper had beaten title favourite Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-final before going on to cap off a fantastic week. 

On the women’s side, Mira Andreeva continued to show why she is regarded as the future after beating World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in a thrilling final. 

The teenager had beaten former world No.1 and current No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the semifinal before stunning Sabalenka in three sets 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 to clinch her second consecutive WTA 1000 title. 

Meanwhile, in Europe’s top leagues, we are now at the business end of the season as the first international break takes centre stage this weekend following the last round of matches in Europe's top leagues.

In Spain, Barcelona came back from two goals down to secure a stunning 4-2 win over Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium. 

The comeback kept Barcelona at the top of the LaLiga, the same points as Real Madrid, who beat Villarreal at Estadio la Ceramica on Saturday. However, Barcelona have a game in hand and could go three points clear if they win that game. 

In England, Arsenal kept their faint title hopes alive as they reduced Liverpool’s lead at the top to 12 points following a 1-0 win over Chelsea at the Emirates. On Sunday, Man Utd also backed up their win over Real Sociedad with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Leicester City at the King Power Stadium. 

In Italy, it is advantage for Inter Milan as they moved three points clear of Napoli after beating Atalanta 2-0 on Sunday night. The win puts Inter in control after Antonio Conte’s men played a goalless draw against Venezia. 

But while these a big storylines, we take a look at the creme de la creme of last weekend. 

Lando Norris off to a flying start 

Lando Norris and McLaren are not here to play as they showed their readiness for this year’s Formula 1 title after winning the first race of the year on Sunday. 

Max Verstappen may be the defending champions but the second half of last year suggested that Norris would be make it hard for the Dutchman to win a fifth world title. 

Norris was clearly the best driver on the circuit in the second half of the year and he picked up from where he left as he edged out Verstappen to win a chaotic Australian Grand Prix. 

Having secured pole in Saturday’s qualifying, Norris, the pre-season title favourite, led for most of the 58 laps in a rain-hit race. Although he had to overcome the wet conditions with 15 laps to go, Norris held his nerve to win a fairly comfortable race ahead of Verstappen. 

Verstappen was indeed hot on the tails of the Briton and tried to overtake him as conditions became slippery. But the Dutch driver could not just find a way past Norris, who was composed when it mattered most. 

Meanwhile, it was not a debut to remember for Lewis Hamilton in his first race for Ferarri as he finished in tenth place. 

Newcastle end 70-year trophy drought to compound Liverpool’s misery 

The first silverware of the season in England’s domestic leagues was up for grabs on Sunday as Newcastle took on Liverpool in the final of the EFL Cup. 

Liverpool were the most successful team in the competition with 11 wins while Newcastle were looking for their first major trophy in 70 years. 

The Reds went into the game looking to bounce back after they were dumped out of the Champions League by PSG. Although losing the Carabao Cup would not have mattered in the grand scheme of things, Liverpool needed to win to make a statement. 

However, they failed to do that as Arne Slot’s men suffered a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle. Dan Burn put the Magpies ahead five minutes before the break before Alexander Isak doubled the advantage for Eddie Howe’s men after the break. 

Although Federico Chiesa pulled one back for the Reds in injury time, it was not enough to stop Newcastle from winning their first major trophy in 70 years. 

As for Liverpool, their dreams of winning a quadruple crumbled in just a month but they are still in pole position to win the biggest prize, which is the Premier League.