Weekend Review: Punters in clover as bookies bemoan Bellingham and co

Erling Haaland put Manchester United to the sword on Sunday afternoon as early weekend joy turned to gloom for the bookmakers.

The imperious Norwegian tucked away a penalty and popped up with a header within 50 minutes at Old Trafford before laying it on a plate for Manchester City teammate Phil Foden to make it 3-0 with 10 minutes to go.

Erik ten Hag’s side (9/2) looked bereft of ideas as Pep Guardiola’s men (3/5) operated like the well-oiled machine they are, as the Citizens closed the gap at the top of the Premier League to two points.

The Premier League weekend had started well for the layers with Brentford (9/2) netting a third consecutive win against Chelsea (3/5) at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues’ performance drew boos at full-time as their West London rivals sealed another famous win off the Kings’ Road.

A Saturday evening 2-2 draw between lowly Wolves (13/4) and Newcastle (4/5) was also a welcome result for the bookies, with the Geordies unable to shake off midweek Champions League disappoint with a return to winning ways.

Run of the mill wins for Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal across the weekend helped the punters out, while Brighton could only draw 1-1 at home to Fulham and West Ham’s poor run of form continued with a 1-0 loss to Everton.

Betway’s Chad Yeomans said: “It was a Premier League weekend of action that finished well in favour of the players, with the top five teams all securing victories in the latest round of matches.

“Our best result was undoubtedly Chelsea’s shock defeat to Brentford, which saw the home fans booing at the final whistle but gave our traders something to cheer about.

“Sunday’s late game saw Erling Haaland, always a popular pick with punters, return to his goal-scoring ways, and this coupled with City’s win proved to be another setback for our books. Fortunately, draws from Newcastle and Brighton helped offset the City result and improve our margins.”

Over at bet365, Steve Freeth said the weekend was part of a “prolonged period of bad results where every favourite seemed to win”.

He added: “Brentford’s win at Chelsea gave us a perfect start and we finished well on Saturday with Wolves pegging back Newcastle. Sandwiched in between was Arsenal’s 5-0 win but the nature of that game was never going to really hurt us.

“Sunday wasn’t fantastic with hotshots Liverpool, Aston Villa and Manchester City all winning comfortably, but Brighton drawing and West Ham losing certainly helped our cause and we’re just happy that Saturday’s profits outweighed Sunday’s deficit.”

Betfred’s Alan Firkins said Chelsea’s loss and a handful of draws “helped us to hold our own” as he laid out the latest market trends.

He added: “Chelsea fans must wonder what’s going on – and are out to 13/2 for a top four finish. United, in the same market, are now 5/1. Looks a tough ask for both, and those prices reflect that.”

Meanwhile, over on the continent, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham got England fans rubbing their hands in anticipation of next year’s Euro 2024 tournament.

Kane scored a hattrick as Bayern Munich (1/20) dismantled Darmstadt 8-0, with the former Spurs man scoring from his own half in a game which saw three red cards.

In Spain, Bellingham continues to write himself into Real Madrid (17/10) folklore in the embryonic stage of his Galactico career after scoring twice to seal a comeback win against Barcelona in El Clasico, including an early contender for goal of the season and a stoppage time winner.

Freeth said: “Punters’ pal Jude Bellingham once again wrote his own script. Real Madrid were extremely well-backed and we looked to be on for a nice seven-figure result going into injury time at 1-1.

“I’m starting to get annoyed at that arms aloft celebration – what a player. No player has cost us more this season.

“His Ballon d’Or rival for years to come, Kylian Mbappe, also came to punters’ rescue with a last-minute winner against Brest, and then we had Harry Kane filling his boots against Augsburg. The big players are really stepping up to the plate in the early part of the campaign,” he added.

Elsewhere, in horseracing, Betfred’s Firkins reveals the firm “took a hammering” over the weekend with favourites duly obliging.

It was a favourite whitewash at Doncaster, 5/4 favourite Ancient Wisdom secured victory in the Futurity Trophy under pressure from Devil’s Point and Dancing Gemini.

Firkins detailed the weekend’s action for EGR: “We took a hammering on the racing front, though. The faves won all four races on Terrestrial TV at Doncaster, including a power-packed Ancient Wisdom winning the Futurity in deep ground.

“Ancient Wisdom is now 7/1 second-favourite, from 14s, for the Betfred Derby behind 9/4 City Of Troy.

“Racing focus now switches to the 40th Breeders’ Cup at the weekend, this time coming from beautiful Santa Anita in the leeward of the sensational San Gabriel mountains, with plenty of UK and Irish raiders to enjoy.”

Finally, South Africa won a record fourth men’s Rugby World Cup in a rain-soaked Paris after beating the All Blacks 12-11.

The low-scoring game saw New Zealand captain Sam Cane sent off in the first half while Handre Pollard, who wasn’t even named in the Springbok’s original World Cup squad, scored all 12 points to retain the Webb Ellis Cup.

Yeomans said: “The Rugby World Cup reached its conclusion on a rainy evening in Paris, with South Africa narrowly holding on to secure a one-point victory in the final against New Zealand.

“We saw substantial support for the All Blacks to lift the Webb Ellis Cup after their mauling of Argentina in the semi-final, so our traders finished the tournament with a smile on their face,” he added.