Man Utd 2-1 Wolfsburg

Carrick's strike on the 78th minute seal Man Utd's victory (BBC images)

Probably more absorbing a game than what every Manchester United fan and player had expected, the Reds came away with three Champions League points against a spirited Wolfsburg side after coming back from a goal down at Old Trafford.

Edin Dzeko planted his superb header beyond home keeper Thomas Kuzsczak's reach on the 55th minute, before United's immediate reply from a deflected 25-yard free-kick from the rejuvnated Ryan Giggs. An incisive Man Utd move started off by the impressive Dimitar Berbatov on the left, was capped off by an exquisite curler from Michael Carrick from just inside the penalty box seal the win for the Reds, and put one foot into a place in the last 16 of the competition.

it was a very mixed performance all round from what looked like a disjointed United unit. Although the central midfield worked tenaciously and tirelessly - what we usually associate as the bedrock of a United team - it was often exposed defensively with great concern. Patrice Evra looked unassuring, often giving away possession in the 1st half, while lacking penetration down the final third of the pitch.

They also lacked a 'fox in the box' striker, which in hindsight, Michael Owen may have provided but for his groin strain in the early stages of the game, and consequently was replaced by Berbatov.

This side is a work-in-progress, and it will be intriguing to see when Sir Alex Ferguson's 'Red Army' will hit top gear.

F1 Renault handed leniant ban, Briatore prohibited from any association with sport

Whilst watching the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, Nelson Piquet Jr's crash seemed an innocuous one. Turn 15, a 70 mph left hander, is a moderate challenge for today's skilled and fit Formula One drivers.

Piquet had an outside chance of grabbing himself some world championship points, and to benefit his teammate Fernando Alonso, who himself was running first but through a short-fuelled strategy, the Brazilian was ordered to crash his car deliberately by team manager and technical director Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds to help Alonso's cause through the arrival of the safety car.

Now, the latest court hearing in Paris has sealed the team's fate, plus Briatore's and Symonds'. Renault were handed what seems to be a lenient two-year suspended ban. Briatore adjudged to have played a significant role in this devious scheme and has been banned from all FIA-sanctioned events, while Symonds was only banned for five years.

The team also suffered a further blow when they loss its main sponsors and banking giants ING withdrawned its association with the French outfit. Bad times lie ahead, with ongoing rumours that Ferando Alonso will join Ferrari next year.

Man Utd win thrilling derby as City fold without Adebayor

Michael Owen caps a memorable derby with the winning goal (Sky Sports images)

Emmanuel Adebayor's deplorable actions against Arsenal may have haunted Manchester City's chance of defeating arch-city rivals Manchester United as the Reds won a thrilling derby game 4-3 to move within one point of league leaders Chelsea.

Adebayor's ability to hold up the ball under intense pressure was sorely missed in such a pressured game and atmosphere. Although Craig Bellamy grabbed two of City's goals, strike partner Carlos Tevez failed to live up to the great standards that his employers expected when they paid some £25.5m for his services. It is quite funny that the Argentine is renown for pleasing the crowd with his willingness to run and chase a ball rather than his goal-scoring abilities, and maybe is something he would like to rectify.

United's Wayne Rooney scored in the 2nd minute with great ease finishing at Shay Given's near post to put the champions in front, but will have been surprised seeing the huge hole in City's central defence, where you could possibly fit a bus through.

Man United were in control of the early stages, creating chances. But Man City slowly came into the game and was soon gifted an equiliser when goalkeeper haplessly attempted to grasp the ball from Carlos Tevez, who square passed to Gareth Barry to calmly slot the ball into an empty United net.

Darren Fletcher retook the lead for United with a strong header down to Given's left from the impressive Ryan Gigg's cross, but City replied through Bellamy. United pressed on, cbut only went on to waste chance after chance, before the two scorers then took another goal each to make it 3-3. By the time Belllamy celebrated, the match was in the 1st minute of the four allocated injury time minutes, with referee Mark Clattenburg deciding to add an extra two minutes on top for an apparently short goal celebration.

Man City had only themselves to blame. Watching Tevez hold up the ball quite amateurishly in the fifth minute of added time allowed Carrick to pick a beautiful pass to substitute Michael Owen, who stroked the ball past Given as United claimed the points.

Talking of title protaganists, I was very impressed with Chelsea's form against Tottenham. Spurs was humiliated at Stamford Bridge by 3-0, but was unlucky with a penalty claim by Robbie Keane, who I thought was played a pedestrian role behind Jermain Defoe and found little joy in his personal on-field battle against Michael Essien.

Chelsea's strength, energy and enthusiasm on the field was a sight to behold. Didier Drogba had yet another influential game, and gave opposition centre-backs Ledley King and Sebastian Bassong such a torrid game, bot had to come off the field of play injured, but possibly the latter not as the result from the Ivorian's play.

My beloved West Ham gave another fantastic performance Saturday evening against an indifferent Liverpool team. Although critics can list superlatives of Fernando Torres' performance, and rightly so of his match-winning quality, but Reds' centre-half Jamie Carragher did not give me any degree of confidence that Liverpool could come up against creditable top teams and win.

The Premier League is shaping up to be a very exciting season, other than watching Portsmouth at this present time.

Del Potro wins US Open as new tennis star is born

Del Potro celebrates his win over Federer (Image: US Open website)

I confess I did not watch much tennis at the US Open over the two weeks, but already I am salivating over the potential of two young tennis players - mens' singles winner Juan Martin Del Potro and girls' singles champion Heather Watson.

Tennis critics can now add 'Del Boy' into the elite group, the Big Four of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic. And he has shown at the final Slam of the year that he is able to compete with the best.

Del Potro has a great forehand and an improving backhand. He has stepped up his game over the past year since going on that ridiculous spell where he won over 30 consecutive matches and five straight tournaments in the run-up to last year's US Open. Perhaps, he may need to improve his net play, but his tenacity and aggressive baseline play shows he has a great future in the game.

Watson also won a Grand Slam, but only in the girls' category. I think British fans will be intrigued to hear her progress and gives great hope for the future of British womens' tennis, after joining with the LTA recently, who aim to harness and develop the brightest British tennis prospects. With Laura Robson's speedy development and Anne Keothavong rise up the rankings, leaving British womens' tennis with something to cheer about.

Button back on form as Barrichello closes gap

Barrichello races to victory at Monza (Paddock Talk)

Championship leader Jenson Button did not win the Italian Grand Prix at Monza yesterday, but will have been relieved to see two potential world title rivals, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, slip out of contention for the driver's crown. Despite this, teammate Rubens Barrichello drove immpecibly to win the race to close the gap to 14 points behind the Englishman.

It was not a dramatic race that we come to expect from the legendary Monza circuit, with events of Mika Hakkinen sliding out of the 1999 race when comfortably leading and sobbing behind the forest greenery or Michael Schumacher's last Italian grand prix in front of the tifosi fanatics back in 2006 fresh in the mind of Formula One supporters.

The Kers-operated car of Lewis Hamilton sped away from Adrian Sutil and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen in the early stages of the race that saw Webber retire from the grand prix after colliding with BMW driver Robert Kubica down the tricky second chicane in the first lap. However, the first three drivers, including the impressive Force India of Sutil, were on two-stop strategies - not the most ideal tactic as drivers with heavier fuel loads are not usually punished with the cooler conditions and long straights that Monza poses. That played into the hands of the Brawn combination of Button and Barrichello.

With Webber out, the onus fell on Vettel to catch up with the fast Brawns. However, his Renault engine lacked horsepower and competitiveness, and soon found out he was unable to trouble the frontrunners. Brawn pressed on and when Hamilton came into the pits for his first fuel stop, the Brawns continually churned strong lap times, eliminating Raikkonen and Sutil from contention to win their first Italian grand prix.

When the Brawns pitted at half race distance with Barrichello leading, Hamilton retook the lead and continued to produce fast times to return from his second pitstop still ahead of his Brawn rivals. He didn't and found himself in behind Button and unabling to pass him. His ability to push his McLaren to the limits has won respect from many drivers, but has also become his downfall. On the final lap, Hamilton produced the fastest first sector time in his pursuit to overtake Button until he came out of the tight Lesmo corner taking too much curb and slamming his car into the barriers, making the lap a precession for Barrichello and Button, who gave Brawn their first one-two finish since Monaco in May.

Raikkonen joined the Brawns on the podium, while Sutil finished a respectable fourth and earning his first world championship points. World championship contender Vettel finished eighth profiting from Hamilton's costly error, but fell 26 points behind Button in the driver's standings with four races left and with little hope of capturing the crown.

The final race of the European season saw many drivers fighting for their spots for next season. The future of Fernando Alonso is shrouded in mystery, heightened especially with Renault's current court case of fixing last year's Singapore race, and the clarity of Ferrari's interest.

Upcoming star Robert Kubica is also without a drive as BMW announced earlier this season it will discontinue its F1 journey, while Heikki Kovalainen has won few praises for his performances in the McLaren since joining at the start of last season. He will be expected to leave the team at the end of the season, possibly by Nico Rosberg. It seems of all the talent the Finnish driver has, he does not have the racing aggression that teammate Hamilton has, and a desire to win at all costs. His only win came in Hungary last year, only after Felipe Massa retired with a blown engine with only three laps remaining.

Former Force India driver Giancarlo Fisichella had a difficult weekend as he struggled to adjust to a Kers running Ferrari, but performed admirably in the race to finish ninth. He will remain with the team until the end of the season, and will slot in a testing role for the team next year.

With four races left, there are still contracts left unsigned and drivers with a point to prove. But the drivers championship is left wide open and it is the Brawn team reasserting their dominance down the F1 food chain.