Weekend Review: Favourite backers cheer as Man United end six-year trophy drought

Manchester United’s resurgence under Dutch head coach Erik ten Hag continued on Sunday as his side lifted the Carabao Cup at Wembley following a 2-0 victory over Newcastle United.

Casemiro put the Red Devils – 11/10 to win within 90 minutes – 1-0 up in the 33 minute before in-form Marcus Rashford’s deflected shot past Newcastle’s third-choice keeper, Loris Karius, doubled the lead before half-time.

Despite a spirited second-half performance by the Magpies and total possession of 61% throughout the 90 minutes, the club’s 68-year wait for domestic silverware goes on.

Betfred’s Alan Firkins described it as “an expensive result” for the bookmaker and lifelong Man United fan Fred Done who tipped the correct score at 10/1 in a newspaper column.

“We went top price Newcastle but Man United were heavily backed, and just had too much on the day. It shouldn’t detract one jot from the brilliant job [Newcastle manager] Eddie Howe is doing, and how classy of their fans to stay and applaud the presentation,” Firkins said.

Meanwhile, bet365 came unstuck by boosting Rashford’s odds for a shot on target from 4/11 to evens, while anytime scorer backers collected when the striker was credited with the second goal.

Steve Freeth of bet365 said Man United are clearly going in the right direction under ten Hag with the club’s first trophy in six years.

He added: “A number of our customers will be hoping it won’t be their last piece of silverware this season as we’ve got 46 bets on the Red Devils winning the quadruple at 10,000/1 and a few hundred wagers at 5,000/1 and 4,500/1, with the four-timer now trading at 125/1.”

“They look to have a good chance of adding the FA Cup and Europa League, but the Premier League may be a step too far.”

There was also action in the Premier League this weekend, the highlight being the London derby between Spurs (6/4) and Chelsea (15/8).

Midfielder Oliver Skipp put Spurs 1-0 up, 19 seconds into the second half before Harry Kane made it 2-0 on the 82 minute at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Without a win in their last six matches in all competitions, the loss leaves Chelsea languishing in 10in the table, closer to the relegation zone than the Champions League places.

Elsewhere, league leaders Arsenal (8/13) won 1-0 away at Leicester City and Man City (2/7) breezed past Bournemouth with a 4-1 victory on the south coast.

The results mean Arsenal still hold a two-point lead over City, although The Gunners have a game in hand.

After struggling to break down a resilient Nottingham Forest for most of the game, the floodgates opened in the 71 minute at the London Stadium as West Ham smashed four past their opponents in the final quarter of the game.

There were also wins for Aston Villa (15/8) away at Everton, Leeds (10/11) at home to fellow-strugglers Southampton, while Liverpool (8/11) were held to a 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace.

Betway’s Chad Yeomans said: “The tussle between Arsenal and Man City continued over the weekend with both sides winning away at Leicester and Bournemouth respectively – both were popular selections in accas and multiples.

“The best result of the day was Crystal Palace holding Liverpool to a draw in the evening kick-off. Liverpool needed to bounce back from their home humiliation to the hands of Real Madrid on Tuesday night, but they couldn’t break through at Selhurst Park.”

On the continent, the bookies were left smiling after Real Madrid (5/6) drew 1-1 in the derby against city-rivals Atlético Madrid.

What’s more, Barcelona (2/5) were humbled by lowly Almeria at Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos as the home side secured a 1-0 win. This slip-up was “the best result of the day”, according to Yeomans.

Meanwhile, in Germany, Bayern Munich (2/5) brushed aside high-flying Union Berlin 3-0 and Borussia Dortmund (4/6) won 1-0 away at Hoffenheim.

Both sides are neck and neck in the Bundesliga on 46 points, although Bayern have the superior goal difference.

Discussing the weekend’s action, Kindred Group’s Ali Gill said: “A few good results for punters in the Premier League at the weekend as we finished in the red in five of the eight games played.

“However, Liverpool’s continuing struggles and their 0-0 draw with Palace on Saturday saw us finish in a good position.”

Meanwhile, a busy weekend of horseracing action saw Kitty’s Light, ridden by Jack Tudor and trained by Christian Williams, capitalise on a blunder at the last by The Galloping Bear to take the Vertem Eider Handicap at 7/4.

“The Vertem Eider Handicap went the way of very well-backed favourite Kitty’s Light, who won well at 7/4 to line punters pockets,” said Gill.

Firkins commented: “A bad result was Kitty Light who won the Eider, with Fred pushing it out to 3/1 on Saturday morning.”

Down at Kempton, Our Power took the Coral Handicap Chase at odds of 11/2 as the Sam Thomas-trained eight-year-old just held on from Flegmatik.

Finally, former Love Island star Tommy Fury beat social media influencer Jake Paul by a split decision in a massive boxing grudge match on Sunday night held in Saudi Arabia.

Betting interest in the contest was high, with more than £3m matched on Betfair before the bout.

However, Fury, the 11/8 underdog, prevailed, setting up a potential money-spinning rematch with his American opponent.