Weekend Review: Bookies toast score-draw thriller at Anfield

It really was a super Sunday for the betting operators as a mouth-watering clash between Liverpool and Man City lived up to the hype in a 2-2 draw at Anfield.

Man City, who were 13/10 before kick-off, justified favouritism with a dominant display in the first half against the Reds (19/10).

However, the home side drew first blood through Sadio Mane in the second half before Man City’s Phil Foden equalised 10 minutes later with a smart finish from a narrow angle.

A mazy run and pinpoint finish from Mohamed Salah meant Liverpool looked destined to take all three points, yet City’s Kevin De Bruyne made it 2-2 with a left-foot strike deflected into the net off Liverpool defender Joel Matip.

“There’s no escaping the fact that the titanic draw at Anfield was a good result for us,” crowed Alan Firkins of Betfred.

 Over at Kindred, spokesman Alistair Gill said the operator’s traders cheered a draw, but perhaps not so much as one might expect.

“A draw in the big one yesterday was a decent result as well, but Liverpool and City being so well matched meant that the draw certainly wasn’t ignored by punters.

“Although we came out ahead, it wasn’t what it could have been,” he stated.

👀 FROM ALL ANGLES 👀

Take a look at Mo Salah's incredible goal for Liverpool 🇪🇬🔥

Liverpool 2-2 Man City: https://t.co/MBLiA4U2jm pic.twitter.com/Il9HHEThnY

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 3, 2021

Earlier on Sunday, Crystal Palace (9/5) came back from 2-0 down at home to Leicester City (13/8) to draw 2-2, while Spurs (12/11) secured a welcome win over Aston Villa.

However, there was drama at the London Stadium as Yoane Wissa of promoted side Brentford (15/4) scored deep into injury time to bag a 2-1 victory over West Ham.

The previous day, Man United (1/2) could only manage a 1-1 draw in the lunchtime encounter with Everton, which sunk plenty of multiple bets.

Meanwhile, Chelsea (2/5) continued their fine start to the campaign by dispatching Southampton at Stamford Bridge.

Leeds (3/4) grabbed all three points over Watford, who, in true Watford fashion, subsequently sacked their manager, while Wolves (7/10) beat Newcastle 2-1 at Molineux.

Finally, favourite-backers were left cursing their luck as a resurgent Arsenal (13/10) played out a goalless draw on the south coast away to a well-organised Brighton side.

Assessing the Premier League action, Gill said: “Another layers’ weekend in the Premier League as we came out ahead in eight of the 10 matches.

“A couple of draws made the weekend really, with Man United’s draw with Everton topping the list in terms of results and Arsenal’s 0-0 draw with Brighton following not far behind.”

Likewise, bet365’s Steve Freeth said: “Not too many complaints from this end about the football results this weekend. We got off to a good start with Manchester United and Everton drawing 1-1 and finished with another bookmaker-friendly result in Liverpool 2 Manchester City 2.

“Throw in some shocks defeats around Europe for the likes of Bayern Munich and PSG and you have a decent weekend on the football front.”

With the dust settled, Chelsea go into the international break top of the table in what is shaping up to be an enthralling title race.

Despite Thomas Tuchel’s side having 16 points, third-placed Man City on 14 points have gone odds-on again following the Citizens’ impressive display at Anfield.

Firkins said: “City are now a shade of odds-on at 10/11 to retain their Premier League crown. United, meanwhile, are out to 16/1.”

Turf love

Away from the football, there was a real highlight of racing’s flat season on Sunday in the shape of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp, Paris.

This was the 100^th running of the 1m 4f Group 1, and the race, which was run on heavy ground, certainly didn’t disappoint those in attendance or watching around the world on TV.

After jockey William Buick kicked for home aboard 3/1-shot Adayar, he looked to be in full control, yet 5/2-favourite Hurricane Lane and Tarnawa closed the gap and took up the running.

However, German-trained Torquator Tassso found another gear to pick up and storm late to take Europe’s richest race (£2.5m for first).

Ridden by Rene Pierchulek in the colours of the German flag, the unlikely winner returned an SP of 80/1 with British bookmakers and £91.40 on the UK Tote. He was 139/1 (win only) on Betfair Exchange.

😳 Returned a Betfair SP of 139/1 https://t.co/DiMJY2Mi31

— Sporting Life Racing (@SportingLife) October 3, 2021

This was the biggest-priced Arc winner since 1975 and only the third time in the 100 runnings that a horse trained in Germany has prevailed.

Naturally, the layers were smiling ear to ear after that result. “Tarnawa and Hurricane Lane were heavily supported all day, so the German horse’s three-quarters length win was a dream result for the book,” Gill revealed.

William Hill’s Rupert Adams added: “Great result in the Arc – it was the best result in the book and gave us a real surprise as even in-running all the big boys were there.”

“Best result in our book and we could not have been happier,” he continued, struggling to contain his pleasure.

While the four-year-old trained by Marcel Weiss had been largely ignored in the betting and was available at 100/1 in places on Sunday morning, he had won two Group 1 races in his homeland.

That hadn’t gone unnoticed by some, and so we have to doff our hats to Racing Post journalist Maddy Playle who sung the praises of Torquator Tassso before the race.

Top tipping; 100/1 winners don’t come around every day.

I can't do it, I just can't let Torquator Tasso go off at 100-1.

He's a really talented horse who wasn't at his best behind Alpinista in the Grosser Preis Von Berlin, when he was switched several times and stormed home. I think the Arc will suit his running style, too.

— Maddy Playle (@mp_horseracing) October 2, 2021