Weekend Review: Rodri rocket implodes Inter in Istanbul in Guardiola’s latest glory
Bookies happy with lack of goals and a blank for Erling Haaland as domestic season draws to a close
Manchester City (1/2) completed an historic treble on Saturday evening in Istanbul after easing past Inter Milan (11/2) 1-0.
The heavy favourites had a few shaky moments in Turkey, and fans were wincing when Kevin De Bruyne was forced off early with an injury.
Inter should have taken the lead after a defensive mishap allowed Lautaro Martínez to steal in, but a selfish streak saw him shoot for goal instead of squaring for a tap-in for Romelu Lukaku.
City then took the lead thanks to a fine finish from Rodri and managed to hold on, as Lukaku failed to finish a glorious chance from mere yards out.
With the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League all heading back to east Manchester, it was a season to remember for Pep Guardiola’s side.
CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE!!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/n8dXDvOZyp
— Manchester City (@ManCity) June 10, 2023
For the bookies, a lack of goals and Erling Haaland failing to find the back of the net was positive news.
Bet365’s Steve Freeth said: “If Manchester City were going to win then a 1-0 victory for the red-hot favourites with an unfancied holding midfielder scoring the goal would’ve been the result I’d have asked for.
“There was a rather large dent with the Erling Haaland Shot on Target Super Boost (1/9 – evens) landing, as well as our Soccer Substitute Guarantee on Kevin de Bruyne where we returned stakes as bet credits on a whole host of markets when he trudged after 35 minutes. But this was a Champions League final very much for the bookmakers,” he added.
Betfred’s Alan Firkins mused: “Lots of accas involving City landed of course, but the result was softened given the solitary goalscorer, Rodri.
“City deserved their place in history with an unbeaten campaign that has included imperious dismissals of Bayern and Real, while the final was trench warfare – a battle they just about survived.”
Francisco Pimentel Can, head of trading at Virgin Bet, added: “There were a large amount of customers backing Inter Milan to win in 90 mins given that price was between 5/1 and 6/1 and also over 2.5 goals. Bet builder and specials saw majority of the bets coming on Haaland, City to win, most shots on target and most corners.”
Looking ahead to next season, Firkins laid out the ominous-looking threat posed by City.
He said: “For the Premier League 2023-24, we go 4/7 City, 8/1 Liverpool, 9/1 Arsenal, 10/1 Man Utd, 12/1 Newcastle, 14/1 Chelsea, and it’s a whopping 50/1 bar those quoted.
“Transfer comings and goings will be fascinating to observe in the coming weeks, and could those outrights be tweaked if the names involved are huge enough? Watch this space.”
Elsewhere in Europe, West Ham (29/20) ended their trophy drought with a 2-1 win over Fiorentina (9/5) in the Europa Conference League final in Prague on Wednesday.
The Hammers opened the scoring thanks to a Saïd Benrahma penalty before being pegged back after fine Giacomo Bonaventura strike. In stoppage time, Jarrod Bowen popped up to win the game for the Irons, sending the fans into pandemonium.
BoyleSports head of football trading Pete Campbell said: “Although dubbed the minor UEFA competition, punters were out in force with two well-known teams taking part in the final.
“With both teams scoring and plenty happening on and off the ball with eight yellow cards, it was a win for the customers, heightened by some sizeable payouts on the bet builder markets.”
The end to our 43 year wait… 🏆 pic.twitter.com/oQWzReFBFI
— West Ham United (@WestHam) June 9, 2023
In horseracing, it was a quieter weekend as the punters and bookies gear up for Royal Ascot next month.
It was an emotional story in the Lester Piggott Stakes at Haydock after trainer William Haggas secured victory after Tom Marquand delivered Sea Silk Road to a win.
Haggas’ father-in-law was the late, great Piggott, which put a perfect ribbon on a piece of horseracing history.
Alan Reilly, BoyleSports head of racing, said: “It was a quieter weekend on the racing front as the industry recovers from Epsom and prepares for Royal Ascot. It was a good set of results for the layers on Saturday with Haydock’s card featuring the Lester Piggott stakes which was won by trainer William Haggas, whose wife Maureen is the daughter of the late and greatest ever jockey.
“Punters had the better of things though in Ireland with Punchestown providing 10 winning favourites across the two days,” he added.