Weekend in pictures: Southgate’s England prevail, Bisping retires Henderson and Burns beats Relikh

Ricky Burns came through a tough maiden defence of his WBA super-lightweight title against hard-hitting challenger Kiryl Relikh with a unanimous decision victory. The Scot’s scores were widely debated by those watching, with Ricky Hatton trained Relikh having troubled Burns many times throughout their exciting 12-round scrap in Glasgow. After retaining his crown, American four-weight world champion Adrien Broner could be next for Burns in Las Vegas.

Goals from Dele Alli and Daniel Sturridge helped Gareth Southgate get off to a winning start as stand-in England boss. The Three Lions earned a 2-0 victory at Wembley, though could have netted many more if not for the performance of Malta stopper Andrew Hogg.

After missing out on Euro 2016, Scotland were hoping to start strongly in World Cup qualifying, but an early blip seen them draw 1-1 at home to Lithuania. James McArthur’s late header salvaged a draw for the hosts, after Fedor Cernych had opened proceedings for the visitors.

Kyle Lafferty rediscovered his clinical eye for goal which saw him star in Euro 2016 qualifying. The towering frontman netted twice to help dispatch San Marino 4-0. Northern Ireland also saw goals from Steven Davis and Jamie Ward as they rallied to a comfortable home success.

Gareth Bale’s opener wasn’t enough to oversee Wales secure a home triumph in their qualifier against Georgia. Tornike Okriashvili nodded in the equaliser to grab a shock 1-1 draw in Cardiff as Chris Coleman’s Dragons stuttered.

West Bromwich Albion wideman James McClean bagged a brace and Shane Long struck his first goal of the season as the Republic of Ireland toppled Moldova 3-1. With the Welsh having slipped up, the win for Martin O’Neill’s Boys in Green was made all the more sweeter in their group.

Churchill further enhanced his classic claims when landing the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket in impressive fashion. The Aidan O’Brien trained colt stretched clear inside the final furlong under jockey Ryan Moore to beat stablemate Lancaster Bomber by 1 1/4 lengths and extend his winning sequence to five. Churchill was value for much more than the winning margin and the beautifully bred son of Galileo looks a worthy ante post favourite for next year’s 2000 Guineas and Investec Derby.

Sweet Selection powered clear under Silvestre de Sousa to land the 34-runner Cesarewitch at Newmarket in tremendous style. Having finished fifth in last month’s Group 2 Doncaster Cup after the weights for the ultra-competitive 2m 2f handicap were released, the Hughie Morrison trained filly lined up officially 17lb well-in at the weights and duly made a mockery of her mark. After racing prominently throughout Sweet Selection took up the running two from home and forged clear to score by three lengths from First Mohican.

At UFC 204, middleweight champion Michael Bisping successfully defended his crown with a unanimous points decision success over veteran Dan Henderson. The Cyprus-born Mancunian looked a busted-up mess following the decision, but he gained the judges’ favour nevertheless in the pair’s rematch at the Manchester Arena.

Current Championship leader Nico Rosberg extended his lead at the summit by claiming victory in the Japanese Grand Prix. The German Mercedes steerer edged out Red Bull starlet Max Verstappen in second, while teammate Lewis Hamilton had to settle for third. Britain’s reigning world champion Hamilton looks to be losing his grip on his crown now, with Rosberg surging ahead in the standings.