Weekend Review: City cherry-picked off in seaside stumble

Bournemouth (6/1) stunned reigning champions Manchester City (11/20), beating them 2-1 at the Vitality Stadium, in what was a belter of a weekend for the bookies.

Goals from Antoine Semenyo and Evanilson were enough to give the Cherries all three points, despite a late reply from Joško Gvardiol.  

The result brought an end to City’s 32-game unbeaten run in the Premier League, opening the door for other title contenders to capitalise.  

One such team were Liverpool (9/25), who returned to the top of the table after coming from behind to beat Brighton (6/1) 2-1 at Anfield.  

Summer signing Ferdi Kadıoğlu had given the Seagulls the lead with his first Premier League goal for the club, before two quickfire strikes from Cody Gakpo and Mo Salah gave the Reds all three points.  

The weekend’s Premier League action kicked off with Newcastle’s (3/1) 1-0 win at home to title-chasing Arsenal (19/20), courtesy of an Alexander Isak header.

Kindred Group’s Ali Gill said: “A great weekend in the Premier League as we again managed to come out ahead in all nine games played, with some fair shocks included.

“Pick of the bunch unsurprisingly was Bournemouth adding Man City to their list of recent big name scalps, that 2-1 win coming in as our best result of the weekend overall.

“Not far behind was Newcastle’s well-deserved win over a poor-looking Arsenal, who now find themselves already seven points off the league leaders. All told, winning accas were a pretty rare affair for punters across the weekend.”

The Premier League’s most drawn fixture in history lived up to its reputation as Manchester United (8/5) and Chelsea (8/5) played out a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford in the Red Devils’ first league game since the sacking of Erik ten Hag.  

Nottingham Forest (21/20) continued their strong start to the season with a 3-0 win at home to West Ham, Tottenham (19/20) romped to a 4-1 home win against Aston Villa, while Southampton (3/2) secured their first win of the season by beating Everton 1-0 at St Mary’s.  

Elsewhere, there were draws in the games between Ipswich (13/20) and Leicester City (19/10) and Wolves (27/20) and Crystal Palace (2/1).  

Francisco Cano, head of trading at LiveScore Group, said the weekend’s results led to healthy return for the bookmaker.

He remarked: “This weekend proved to be one of our most successful in recent months, delivering strong turnover figures and healthy profit margins. Sunday’s late afternoon kickoff between Manchester United and Chelsea match saw our highest activity across the weekend.

“Naturally, both the Arsenal defeat and, in particular, City’s surprise loss to Bournemouth were key to our high levels of turnover.” 

Bet365’s Steve Freeth shared the sentiment, adding: “You’re always a bit uncomfortable when one of the big sides go behind in the running and Saturday was no different, but we ended up with Liverpool (biggest 7/2 in-play) being our only real loser on the top-flight coupon. 

“Coupons and bet builders were scuppered at Newcastle and Bournemouth with Arsenal and Manchester City both losing and the 2-2 draw in the late game at Molineux was also a profitable one. The 1-1 at Old Trafford on Sunday sealed a bookmaker-friendly weekend.” 

Betfred’s Alan Firkins said: “Can’t describe the Premier League weekend as anything other than encouraging for the football desk with three helpful draws, plus the demise of both Arsenal at Newcastle, and more spectacularly, Manchester City at Bournemouth.”

OLBG’s Jake Ashton revealed the weekend’s results at the top of the table have shifted the betting odds for the title.  

He said: “Arne Slot’s men have shortened in recent weeks in the betting odds to win the title, especially after that draw at the Emirates, and now they sit just behind Man City in the latest betting market following the latest results.” 

Across Europe, Harry Kane netted twice in Bayern Munich’s (7/50) 3-0 win at home to Union Berlin, while reigning champions Bayer Leverkusen (27/50) were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Stuttgart.  

In Spain, table toppers Barcelona (7/50) extended their lead at the summit after a 3-1 victory at home in the Catalan derby against Espanyol.

In Serie A, league leaders Napoli (5/4) fell to a 3-0 home defeat at the hands of Atalanta, while there were 1-0 wins for both Milan clubs, with Inter (17/100) at home to Venezia and AC (31/50) away at Monza.  

Freeth noted: “We rolled with the punches in Europe, notably Juventus winning at Udinese, Feyenoord’s 3-2 win against AZ Alkmaar, the same scoreline in the Trabzonspor versus Fenerbahce clash and the 4-3 between Girona and Leganes, but for us it was all about the Premier League this weekend.”

Meanwhile, in horseracing, 13/2 Sierra Leone romped home in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar, ahead of 14/5 favourite Fierceness and Forever Young (4/1).  

The hotly tipped Aiden O’Brien-ridden City Of Troy, who went off at second favourite (19/5), could only manage an eighth-place finish in the race.  

City Of Troy eventually finished 13 lengths behind Sierra Leone in a disappointing showing for the Derby winner.

In the Breeders’ Cup Turf, 19/10 favourite Rebel’s Romance emerged victorious ahead of Rousham Park (221/10) and Shahryar (17/2).  

Betfred’s Firkins remarked on how City Of Troy’s performance would have been a knock to several punters. 

He said: “The horse the master trainer has described as the best he’s ever trained, City Of Troy, ultimately failed in his quest to conquer the alien dirt surface, and a tardy start certainly didn’t help.  

“Punters knew their fate early as he toiled in rear, seeming to struggle with the kickback in his face.

“Sierra Leone, whose listed ownership group ironically includes Ballydoyle/Coolmore stalwarts Michael Tabor and Mrs Magnier, came from way off the pace to take the huge prize in what was a very good result.

Gill added: “Friday and Saturday saw the Breeders Cup at Del Mar as the usual array of European stars were on display, both equine and human.

“The Breeders Cup Classic saw Sierra Leone hold off 14/5 favourite Fierceness to win by a length and a half, with Irish hope City of Troy disappointing on the day. All told, the race was a profitable one in what was a top-class couple of days racing.”

In Formula One, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen pulled off an impressive victory in a rain-soaked Brazilian Grand Prix in São Paulo.  

The Dutchman claimed his win starting from 17th place, with Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly making up the rest of the podium.  

Kindred Group’s Gill said: “A chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix had it all in terms of drama, including a Max Verstappen masterclass as he managed to win from a lowly 17th on the starting grid.  

“It seems like punters saw his price as too good to pass up, as that race result left us way behind as we now approach the final stretch of the season.” 

Looking ahead to the week’s betting action, Firkins gave his thoughts on racing’s premier event Down Under and the US presidential election on Tuesday.

Firkins said: “Tuesday is a monster on the betting front courtesy of Australia’s Melbourne Cup and America’s presidential election.

“Willie Mullins’ Vauban looks to do better than last year’s dismal 14^th place at Flemington and is favourite (9/2) to do so, while turnover has been heading in recent days towards the £1m mark in the Trump/Harris clash for the keys to the White House across the pond.

“Most commentators are reluctant to be definitive about the likely outcome, which is dramatically perched on the proverbial knife-edge.”