Weekend Review: European football draw-fest delights bookies

Manchester United’s stuttering form under Ralf Rangnick continued as the Red Devils (11/20) could only muster a 1-1 draw at home to Southampton (5/1), much to the delight of the bookies.

The Saints’ impressive run of form through a difficult set of fixtures, including a 3-2 against Spurs, saw the south-coast club frustrate United at Old Trafford.

United went into the lead thanks to Jadon Sancho goal but Che Adams equalised earlier in the second half to ensure the points were shared.

In north London, Antonio Conte lost three consecutive league games for the first time since 2009 as Spurs (7/10) went down to a 2-0 defeat to Wolves (9/2) to put a dent in their Champions League hopes.

Goals from Raúl Jiménez and Leander Dendoncker ensured Bruno Lage’s side remained firmly in the conversation for a top four place this season.

𝗕 𝗥 𝗨 𝗡 𝗢 pic.twitter.com/vIwfmL68rq

— Wolves (@Wolves) February 13, 2022

Kindred Group’s Ali Gill said: “A great weekend in the Premier League, with Manchester United once again faltering, this time failing to beat Southampton at home for our best result of the weekend. Spurs losing at home to Wolves was also a strong result for the book.”

Betway’s Chad Yeomans added: “United started off the action on Saturday as odds-on favourites to beat Southampton, but again, could only manage to earn a point, knocking out plenty of acca’s early on.”

On the continent, European giants also failed to flatter as some of the top dogs were held to draws in Italy and Spain.

Real Madrid (31/20) could only manage a 0-0 draw against Villareal (17/10) while Barcelona (3/5) needed a last-minute equaliser from Luuk de Jong against Espanyol (4/1) to secure a 2-2 draw.

Inter (8/5) drew 1-1 with Napoli (17/10) and Juventus (7/5) thanked ex-Manchester City man Danilo for a 92nd equaliser against Atalanta (2/1).

90+6' Luuk de Jong goal, Adama Traore assist

Barcelona rescue a point at the death against Espanyol 😅 pic.twitter.com/jH5pDtBnZA

— GOAL (@goal) February 13, 2022

Bet365’s Steve Freeth said: “You don’t need to be Poirot to realise it was a good weekend on the football front this weekend with a whole host of high profile draws scattered around Europe.

“Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter, Juventus, Manchester United to name but five and when the fancied teams did win, they didn’t really do it in style, so it was a solid weekend,” he added.

Elsewhere, in horseracing, 20/1 shot Glory and Fortune won the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury on Saturday to give the bookies another boost.

The victor held off a late challenge from I Like To Move It to secure the victory, while the chasing pack was also made up of outside chances, leaving the layers pleased.

Gill said: “The Betfair Hurdle at Newbury on Saturday was another nice positive in the results column as 20/1 shot Glory and Fortune took the spoils. The places all being filled with double figure prices meant the traders were happy with that one.”

👏 A big victory for @StanSheppard9 & @tflacey

Glory And Fortune is a gutsy winner of the £155,000 @Betfair Hurdle @NewburyRacing pic.twitter.com/8WnNjNrpq2

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) February 12, 2022

Virgin Bet’s Janis Strauts revealed events in Warwick somewhat shadowed Glory and Fortune’s victory at Newbury for the bookmaker.

He said: “It was a good weekend overall for us, with Newbury and the Virgin Bet-sponsored Warwick the high profile meetings on Saturday. Newbury was very good for us, with Glory and Fortune winning the Betfair Hurdle at 20/1 accompanying several other favourable results on the card.

“We struggled at Warwick however, where Edwardstone – the 10/11 favourite – won the Grade 2 Kingmaker Chase impressively and is now 2/1 for the Arkle Novice Chase at Cheltenham. Marie’s Rock – the 6/4 joint favourite – won the other big race on the card there,” he added.

Finally, the Super Bowl saw the Los Angeles Rams (9/20), playing at their home SoFi Stadium, run out 23-20 winners against the Cincinnati Bengals (9/5) to secure the franchise’s second Vince Lombardi trophy.

A late touchdown from MVP Cooper Kupp saw the Rams secure a dramatic win against the Bengals, who just two years ago were the worst team in the league.

Betfred’ Alan Firkins said: “Favourites LA Rams won a compelling Super Bowl LVI, but the ante-post book was a good one given earlier exits for the likes of Tampa, Green Bay and Kansas City.”

Yeomans noted: “The Super Bowl is always an amazing spectacle, both on and off the pitch and this year was no different.

“However, despite the Rams being well-backed on Sunday, we had large liabilities on Bengals to win 34-31 on the correct score market – largely driven by [a prediction in an old episode of] The Simpsons – so seeing the Rams win 23-20, was a very good result on the correct score front,” he concluded.

SAY IT WITH YOUR CHEST! #SUPERBOWL CHAMPIONS! pic.twitter.com/c8pTPDmSNe

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) February 14, 2022