Weekend Review: Manic Manchester Derby and terrific Trossard leave bookies buzzing

It was derby delight for both Arsenal and Manchester City this weekend as the league’s top two look to pull away from the chasing pack on a decent weekend for the bookies.

The action kicked off with the North London derby as Arsenal (19/20) ran out 3-1 (14/1) winners over Tottenham (11/4). Thomas Partey opened the scoring for Gunners with a long-range effort before the inevitable Harry Kane derby goal from the spot made it honours even at the break.

Gabriel Jesus restored Arsenal’s lead by pouncing on a Hugo Lloris fumble. However, things got worse for the visitors as Emerson Royal was shown a straight red card for swiping Gabriel Martinelli. Granit Xhaka finished off the scoring to compound Spurs’ misery, in a repeat of the scoreline from last season.

The action moved to Anfield, where Liverpool’s (2/5) stuttering start to the season continued as Brighton’s (5/1) Leandro Trossard had the game of his life as he netted the first hattrick of the weekend. A Roberto Firmino double and an Adam Webster own goal spared Liverpool’s blushes as Brighton proved they don’t need Graham Potter to produce some magic.

On Sunday, the Manchester Derby produced one of the matches of the season so far. Manchester City (2/5) raced into a 4-0 lead with a double of doubles from Erling Haaland and Phil Foden. Manchester United (4/1) got a goal back through Antony before Foden and Haaland completed their respective hat-tricks. Anthony Martial notched his own double which made the scoreline slightly more respectable for the Red Devils, with the game ending 6-3 to the Citizens.

Haaland, a seemingly unstoppable force of nature, has now scored three hattricks this season and is just nine goals behind Mo Salah’s 23 goals which won the Egyptian the Golden Boot last season.

What it means ❤️ pic.twitter.com/nVgYJVJ7mH

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) October 1, 2022

Betway’s Chad Yeomans said: “The weekend started off with Arsenal winning, which was popular with punters on Saturday morning, but thankfully, Liverpool’s run of unenthusiastic performances continued after the international break as they could only manage a point at home to Brighton, which was a good result for us.

“For now, Manchester is blue. What a performance from City. From the first time they touched the ball to the last, they were magnificent. A well-oiled, well-drilled machine, and that was just too much for Erik ten Hag’s hapless Man United side. Punters expected a City win, but few predicted they’d score six,” he added.

Bet365’s Steve Freeth discussed Haaland’s third hattrick of the season means for some markets around the Norwegian hitman. He said: “Haaland is now 2/5 from an opening show of 20/1 to score 35 or more and 20/1 to bag 50 or more. I’m shaking my head even typing that.”

Betfred’s Alan Firkin told EGR there was some respite from Haaland’s performance, which saw him become just the 14th player in history to be awarded a perfect 10 by French publication L’Equipe.

Firkins said: “The best bit of luck was Phil Foden and not Erling Haaland scoring first in City’s derby day Etihad romp. Double delight hattrick heaven kicked in for the England star, but had the mighty Norwegian netted first, well, it hardly bears thinking about. City are now 1/4 for the title, with Arsenal their nearest rivals in the market at 7/1.”

Manchester is blue! 🔵 pic.twitter.com/WyiUf2wX4S

— Erling Haaland (@ErlingHaaland) October 2, 2022

Elsewhere, West Ham United (21/20) won for the second time this season as they defeated Wolves (3/1) 2-0, which was the final nail in the coffin for Wolves boss Bruno Lage as he was relieved of his duties on Sunday evening.

Yeomans commented: “On Saturday evening, West Ham were good against a very poor Wolves side, who have since sacked their manager, Bruno Lage. It was a good performance by the Hammers’, who will no doubt be popular with punters next Sunday when they face Fulham at home.”

On the continent, Real Madrid’s (3/10) winning run ended against 10-man Osasuna (7/1) as the Pamplona-based side managed a 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabéu. Unfortunately, this was the only shock in La Liga as Barcelona (3/10) scrapped past Mallorca (8/1) thanks to an early Robert Lewandowski strike.

Freeth commented: “Karim Benzema has made us wince a number times recently, but he came to our rescue a few hours later with a late penalty miss against 10-man Osasuna ensuring we finished on a high, but still behind, as Real Madrid’s winning run came to an end.”

In Germany, Union Berlin’s (2/1) great early season form hit a roadblock away at Eintracht Frankfurt (7/5) as the Berliners went down 2-0 to the 10-man side. Borussia Dortmund (6/5) lost 3-2 at FC Koln (21/10), and Bayern Munich (7/20) returned to winning ways with a stellar 4-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen (6/1).

There were red cards galore in Ligue 1 as half of the fixtures saw dismissals as Lionel Messi produced another vintage display as the Argentine proved he is ageing like a fine wine.

The top fixture in Italy saw Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma (5/2) run out 2-1 victors over Inter Milan (21/20) thanks to a Chris Smalling header 15 minutes before the end. There were routine wins for Juventus, Napoli, Lazio and AC Milan.

Elsewhere, in horseracing, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp was arguably trainer Sir Mark Prescott’s finest hour as 7/2 favourite Alpinista landed the prestigious Group 1 race in drizzly conditions.

Jockey Luke Morris guided the mare to a half-length victory ahead of Vadeni and last year’s winner, German raider Torquator Tasso, with the pair closing in during the final stages of the 1m 4f race.

“Wow – Soumillon put an elbow out there” – @LynchySSR is shocked by events in the Prix Thomas Byron… pic.twitter.com/gpGeOyqTtw

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) September 30, 2022

In some justice, Vadeni, ridden by Christophe Soumillon, did not get the victory. Soumillon is facing a 60-day ban after he inexplicitly elbowed his fellow ridder Rossa Ryan from his saddle in the middle of the Prix Thomas Byron on Friday.

Prescott told Sky Sports News: “I think it’s the best day of my racing life. I always thought the best day of my racing life was when I rode a winner on my first ride when I was 15 or 16.”

Summing up the action, Firkins said: “Alpinista cut through the Parisien mud in gloriously landing the Arc for Sir Mark Prescott and Luke Morris.

“She was heavily supported and held the late challenges of fancied pair Vadeni and Torquator Tasso. The Newmarket maestro has been training for 53 years – many, many congratulations on this exceptional career highlight.”