Weekend Review: Leicester City defy the odds to win FA Cup for first time
A goalkeeper and a 17-year-old both net Premier League winners as Liverpool keep Champions League hopes alive
Leicester City caused an upset at Wembley on Saturday to narrowly beat a well-backed Chelsea side (evens) 1-0 in the FA Cup Final and leave the bookmakers celebrating a favourable result.
The Foxes, a 3/1-shot to win in 90 minutes, had Youri Tielemans to thank after the Belgian scored a 30-yard screamer in front of the 21,000 fans allowed to attend the FA Cup showpiece.
It was fifth time lucky for Leicester after previously losing on four occasions in the final. They also got that monkey off their backs of being the only Premier League club not to win the world’s oldest cup competition.
Alex Apati of Ladbrokes described Leicester’s victory as a “good result” as Chelsea had been strongly supported among the operator’s customers. William Hill’s Rupert Adams concurred: “It was one of the best FA Cup results both on the day and ante-post.”
The goal that won us the #FACup
Take. A. Bow. pic.twitter.com/amiQBtk9UN
— Leicester City (@LCFC) May 16, 2021
Meanwhile, an action-packed weekend of Premier League matches kicked off on Friday evening as Man City (1/3) edged past Newcastle 4-3 and Ferran Torres bagged a hat-trick in a thrilling encounter.
Wins on Saturday for Leeds (10/11) away at Burnley and Southampton (10/11) at home to Fulham went the way of favourite backers, yet those who put West Ham (evens) in a treble were left cursing their luck as the London club could only manage a 1-1 draw at Brighton.
Sunday produced stunning drama as Liverpool’s goalkeeper, Alisson, leapt like a salmon to score an unstoppable header from a corner deep into injury time against West Brom, and thus keep the Reds’ Champions League qualification hopes alive.
Merseyside rivals Everton endured a bad day at the office, though, with a lacklustre performance against bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United (8/1). The winner came after seven minutes from promising 17-year-old Daniel Jebbison.
An impressive 3-2 victory for Crystal Palace (2/1) over Aston Villa and a comfortable 2-0 win for Tottenham (4/7) against Wolves rounded off the action.
What a moment!!! ??? I love you boys ❤️ pic.twitter.com/QOThy9pZCN
— Alisson Becker (@Alissonbecker) May 16, 2021
Alistair Gill of Kindred Group said his firm emerged “with a decent margin” after what was a “good weekend for the layers”.
“Liverpool’s last-minute miracle win over West Brom was a nice swing for the punters as well as Liverpool fans, with Southampton and Palace also getting the job done at home.
“But Brighton holding West Ham to a draw to all but end the Champions League hopes and Everton losing to long since relegated Sheffield United were the big swings we needed to end the weekend in the black.”
Apati said: “Everton let the Premier League favourite-backers down after Man City, Spurs and Liverpool all managed to get three points.”
For Alan Firkins of Betfred, it was what he described as a “game of two halves”. “Very tough going on the racing front, but a bit more joy in the world of football.”
Indeed, a fantastic weekend of flat action took place at Newmarket and Newbury, the highlight being the Grade 1 Lockinge Stakes. The mightily impressive Palace Pier, piloted by Frankie Dettori and trained by John Gosden, landed the spoils as the 1/2 red-hot favourite ahead of Lady Bowthorpe at 22/1.
Meanwhile, a son of Frankel, John Leeper, put himself in the Derby picture with a gutsy win at 6/4 in the 10-furlong Listed race at Newmarket.
Firkins remarked: “He was heavily supported and is down to around 8/1 for the Epsom classic from twice those odds. Still looks a bit green, but no doubting the engine.” John Leeper was ridden on Saturday by William Buick who landed a four-timer on the card.
“Aidan O’Brien trained three to prevail at Navan, and it was just one of those days when the punters were one step ahead throughout,” Firkins added.
Reflecting on the results on the turf, Gill said: “The peerless Palace Pier cruised home at 1/2, and even at those odds punters had piled in leaving us in the red. “And in the Gold Cup, favourite Bay Bridge won easy as he liked at 11/4 in our worst result of the weekend.”
What’s more, Adams of Hills said what was a clean sweep of seven losing races from seven on ITV left traders feeling “battered and bruised” come Saturday night.
The best miler in the business!
Palace Pier is a fine winner of the Group 1 Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes ? @NewburyRacing @FrankieDettori pic.twitter.com/3LEnog94pu
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) May 15, 2021
Finally, it was announced at the weekend that what is being billed as the biggest fight ever in boxing history will take place on 14 August.
The undisputed heavyweight championship clash between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will be held in Saudi Arabia, which is a disappointment for those hoping the all-British bout would take place at Wembley. Despite this, the fight is still bound to be a betting bonanza for the bookmaking industry is what is already set to be a sensational summer of sport.