Sporting director Sam Michael is adamant that McLaren will not throw in the towel in this season's Formula One title battle, saying the team is targeting wins in the final four races of the season.

Red Bull top the drivers' and constructors' championships after three successive victories for two-time defending champion Sebastian Vettel.

Victoria Azarenka had to draw on all her reserves by saving two match points in a heroic three-hour six-minute tussle with Angelique Kerber in the WTA Championships.

The top-seeded Belarussian beat the German revelation 6-7 (11/13), 7-6 (7/2) 6-4 in an encounter full of magnificent rallies and surprises. Her win leaves Azarenka needing just one more win to guarantee her finishing the year as world number one.

Micah Richards pointed the finger at coach Roberto Mancini after Manchester City fell to a 3-1 loss at Ajax that left their Champions League ambitions in tatters.

City were well beaten at the Amsterdam ArenA on Wednesday evening, but Richards felt that matters were not helped by Mancini's decision to switch to a three-man defense after the visitors fell 2-1 down in the second half.

Los Angeles Lakers superstar guard Kobe Bryant will miss the team's final two pre-season NBA games because of a sore right foot, the team announced on Wednesday.

Bryant hurt his foot in the third quarter of a loss Sunday to Sacramento and will be re-examined this weekend by doctors ahead of next Tuesday's NBA season opener, when the Lakers play host to the Dallas Mavericks.

Schalke piled on the misery for Arsenal as the German side struck twice in the closing stages to clinch a shock 2-0 win in Wednesday's Champions League clash at the Emirates Stadium.

Dutch duo Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Ibrahim Afellay netted in the final 14 minutes to deal another significant blow to Arsene Wenger's team just days after they crashed to a dismal 1-0 defeat at Premier League strugglers Norwich.

Germany defender Marcel Schmelzer hit a second-half winner as Borussia Dortmund beat Real Madrid 2-1 on Wednesday in the Champions League to snatch top spot in Group D from the Spanish giants.

Having beaten Ajax 1-0 at home and only been denied a win at Manchester City three weeks ago by a late penalty in the 1-1 draw, the German champions produced another battling European display at home against Jose Mourinho's Madrid.

Malaga heaped the pressure on embattled AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri after the Italian giants suffered a 1-0 defeat to the dominant Spanish side in the Champions League here on Wednesday.

Milan are languishing below mid-table in Serie A with only two wins in eight games, a situation which has led to daily speculation about Allegri's position as coach of the Rossoneri.

Sir Alex Ferguson admits he is baffled by Manchester United's defensive woes after watching Braga run riot before Javier Hernandez rescued a 3-2 win against the Portuguese minnows.

Ferguson's side were punished for a sloppy opening to their Group H clash at Old Trafford on Tuesday as two goals from Braga captain Alan stunned Old Trafford into silence.

Roberto Di Matteo's thoughts quickly turned to Chelsea's return game with Shakhtar Donetsk after seeing his side beaten 2-1 by the Ukrainian champions in Champions League Group E.

Chelsea were left chasing shadows for much of the night at Donetsk's Donbass Arena on Tuesday, and even an 88th-minute consolation from Brazilian starlet Oscar could not disguise the fact that the home side ran out worthy winners.

A Jordi Alba goal at the death gave Barcelona a 2-1 win to sink a battling Celtic side and make it three wins out of three in Group G for the Catalan giants.

The visiting Scottish fans were all set to cheer a well earned point at Barca's Nou Camp fortress but instead they were left crestfallen after conceding a goal in the 93rd minute with Alba bundling the ball over from close range.