Weekend Review: Chelsea deliver Hammer blow for Irons' survival hopes
Miraculous comeback at Stamford Bridge puts West Ham in the mire, with the bookies also less than pleased having paid out after Nuno's men went 2-0 up
West Ham and Manchester City letting two-goal leads slip in the Premier League were blows for the bookies as Arsenal strengthened their position at the top of the table.
West Ham (4/1) went into halftime 2-0 up away at Chelsea (3/5) through Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville, before the Blues ran out 3-2 winners with a stoppage-time winner from Enzo Fernández.
City (7/10) were also two to the good in north London, before a Dominic Solanke double, including a spectacular scorpion kick, put a major dent in Pep Guardiola’s title ambitions.
Arsenal (3/5) breezed past Leeds 4-0 at Elland Road, while Manchester United (1/2) had a touch of Fergie time as Benjamin Šeško blasted in a 94th minute winner at home to Fulham.
Aston Villa (5/4) losing 1-0 to Brentford was a big boost for the bookies, while Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace ending 1-1 (9/4) was also positive.
Betfred’s Alan Firkins said: “Honours were probably just about even in the Premier League skirmishes at weekend, with some good things obliging but the odd curveball most definitely raising its head.
“A timely reminder that sport very rarely proceeds entirely benignly along predictable lines.
“Manchester City were 2-0 up at the half against a tepid Spurs at a near-silent Tottenham Stadium, only to fold feebly themselves in the second period as the home side rallied to grab a share of the spoils.
“That ensured Arsenal would take a six-point lead into the first week of February, a fact confirmed when third-placed Aston Villa clumsily lost at home to Brentford, reduced to 10-men for an entire half, 1-0.”
Bet365’s Steve Freeth added: “The two late Saturday games swung the pendulum in favour of the punters with wins for Chelsea and Liverpool following the earlier success for Arsenal.
“On Sunday we were smarting after paying out on 8/15 Manchester City after they threw away a 2-0 lead at Spurs, while Manchester United’s late show at Old Trafford also proved expensive.
“Admittedly, it wasn’t all bad, with Aston Villa’s title hopes dealt a significant blow after their home defeat to 10-man Brentford, and Nottingham Forest dropped points against Crystal Palace.
“West Ham were another side we had paid out early on when Crysencio Summerville put the Hammers 2-0 up at Stamford Bridge. Unfortunately for us, Enzo Fernández sealed the late comeback, meaning we paid out on both West Ham and Chelsea.”
On the Hammers, Midnite senior trader Alex Firth noted: “Chelsea were 6/1 at halftime to complete the turnaround and it all kicked off in the final stages of the match, with Jean-Clair Todibo shown a red card (28/1).”
FDJ United’s Ali Gill added: “It was a bit of a mixed weekend in the Premier League, as a couple of games went strongly against us. Liverpool’s 4-1 win over Newcastle, in a game which always guarantees goals, saw punters in clover, as did Chelsea’s win over West Ham, another goal fest and winning favourite making a tough watch from a trading POV.
“On the flip side, Man City throwing away a 2-0 lead at struggling Spurs didn’t look likely at halftime, but that left a healthy margin on the match, as did Villa’s 1-0 loss to Brentford.”
On the continent, Bayern Munich’s (1/4) blip continued with a 2-2 draw against Hamburg in what was a positive result in the Bundesliga.
Real Madrid (1/4) left it until the 100th minute before Kylian Mbappé converted a penalty to give Los Blancos a 2-1 win over fellow capital city side Rayo Vallecano.
A 0-0 draw for Atlético Madrid (7/10) against Levante was also music to the layers’ ears in La Liga.
Freeth said it was a “struggle in Europe” after early positive results, with PSG (3/5) and a host of other favourites coming out on top in France.
He added: “Lens kicked off the coupon with a 1-0 victory over Le Havre in Ligue 1, meaning the pressure was on PSG, who finished the weekend facing Gary O’Neil’s Strasbourg.
“Achraf Hakimi saw red on 75 minutes with the score at 1-1, but Nuno Mendes popped up with a vital 81st-minute header to send the Parisians back to the top. Favourites were three-for-three on Saturday with victories for Monaco and Lorient.
“While the record books will show Marseille drew 2-2 at Paris, we had already paid out on the visitors when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had given them a 2-0 lead.”
In horseracing, the Dublin Racing Festival got underway on Sunday after downpours meant no racing went ahead at Leopardstown on Saturday.
The originally scheduled Sunday races will take place today, 2 February, instead.
Brighterdaysahead (11/4) won the Irish Champion Hurdle beating Lossiemouth and El Fabiolo in the process.
In the Ladbrokes Novice Chase, Kaid d’Authie (5/1) ripped up the script after beating stablemate Final Demand (30/100).
Kaid d’Authie kicked clear after the third-to-last fence, staying on to beat Western Fold by four-and-a-quarter lengths.
Firkins remarked: “The Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown began a day late at the weekend courtesy of the biblical rains, and some big names fluffed their lines – notably Final Demand, touted beforehand as the ‘second coming personified’, in the G1 novice chase over 2m 5f-and-change.
“He was beaten over 12 lengths at 30/100, and now merely disputes favouritism for the Brown Advisory at the festival, with Kaid d’Authie, at 10/3. The ground was deep and holding, and we should probably treat the outcomes with some caution.”