Weekend Review: Eagles soar to first major trophy as City left blue at Wembley
Crystal Palace seal FA Cup at Wembley thanks to Eberechi Eze’s first-half strike, while Pride of Arras sees its odds slashed to 4/1 to win the Derby at Epsom in June
Crystal Palace (3/1) did the unthinkable on Saturday afternoon, beating Man City (4/5) 1-0 in the FA Cup final to lift their first major trophy in the club’s history.
Eberechi Eze’s first-half strike was the only goal of the game, a tie (result) which saw Dean Henderson save an Omar Marmoush penalty that would have levelled the scores before the break.
The City defeat left Pep Guardiola’s side trophyless for the season and, with the team drawing a blank on the day, meant it was a terrific result for bookmakers.
In the Premier League, with the title and relegation places wrapped up, the race for the top four remains the only talking point, with one game to go.
Arsenal (1/1) all but secured second place with a 1-0 victory over third-placed Newcastle United (13/5), as Declan’s Rice strike proved to be the difference maker.
Nottingham Forest’s (7/5) 2-1 win over West Ham United (2/1) has the Tricky Trees one point behind Newcastle but hoping two of Chelsea, Aston Villa or Man City slip up – City have a game in hand and play Bournemouth on Tuesday night.
It was a bad set of results for operators outside of Fulham’s (12/5) 3-2 comeback over Brentford (1/1), while Jamie Vardy bagged his 200th Leicester City (5/4) goal on his 500th appearance for the Foxes – opening the scoring in a 2-0 win over already relegated Ipswich Town (2/1).
And in the final men’s fixture at Goodison Park, Everton (2/5) signed off in style with a routine 2-0 win over Southampton (6/1).
On the weekend’s action, bet365’s Steve Freeth said: “Our traders were glad all over and toasting Oliver Glasner on Saturday night. His master plan worked a treat as favourites Manchester City fired a blank in the FA Cup Final, with Erling Haaland passing up a penalty in the first half in what was a final for neutrals and bookmakers alike.
“Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Newcastle was fine as a standalone game having earlier seen 2/5 Everton signing off from Goodison with a 2-0 victory, while Nottingham Forest also won at West Ham.
“Additionally, 10/3 Jamie Vardy scored first, marking his 500th and final appearance with his 200th goal for 5/4 Leicester.
“Our saving grace was Fulham, who denied punters a Premier League full house when fighting back from 2-1 down to win 3-2 at Brentford.”
Betfred’s Alan Firkins also highlighted Palace’s win over City as a great result, paying particular attention to the heroics of Henderson in the Palace goal.
He added: “Great result for the football desk at Wembley, as Crystal Palace secured their first major piece of silverware since their formal creation in 1905. In beating Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup Final, they kept a clean sheet and cool heads as the Sky Blues dominated possession (78%) and chances, including a missed penalty.
“Eberechi Eze scored the game’s solitary goal on 16 minutes, sweeping in a Daniel Munoz cross after a swift counter-attack – the kind of goal City concede with metronomic regularity in transition.
“The game’s major talking point was Palace ‘keeper Dean Henderson remaining on the field, despite handling outside his area in thwarting Erling Haaland’s efforts to register. That apart Henderson was magnificent, especially when beating out Omar Marmoush’s first-half penalty kick down to his right.
“No time for moping around for City – they are embroiled in a thrilling race for a Champions League ticket that takes in five clubs looking for three spots: Newcastle, Chelsea, Villa, City and Forest – and all separated currently by just one point, though City have a crucial game in hand (Tuesday upcoming, versus Bournemouth at the Etihad).
“Elsewhere Everton said a fond farewell to Goodison Park, beating Southampton 2-0, while Arsenal clinched the PL runners-up spot beating Newcastle 1-0 at the Emirates.”
For Alistair Gill at FDJ United, the FA Cup final was the firm’s best turnover event of the weekend. While the bookie was also able to make a profit in the rest of the action in the Premier League outside of Forest clinging on to their 2-1 victory over the Hammers.
Gill said: “From a trading point of view the FA Cup went pretty much as well as we could have hoped for, as the result and goals line went well in our favour, leaving our best turnover event of the weekend as also comfortably the best result in the book.
“A relatively good weekend in the Premier League, too, as Forest holding on to beat West Ham left us in the red, but we managed profit on all other games, including Friday night, in part helped by a lack of goals in the bigger games.”
Results across Europe varied for bet365, with the operator thanking several teams for overcoming the odds and saving the firm from a “mauling”.
Union Berlin left it until the 94th minute to overcome Augsburg, with Andrej Ilić proving to be the hero for the away side.
In France, Le Havre went one further and kept their place in Ligue 1 thanks to a 99th minute Abdoulaye Touré penalty.
While Serie A will go down to the wire after leaders Napoli were held to goalless draw against Parma and second-placed Inter drew 2-2 with Lazio, both teams are separated by a point with a game remaining.
Freeth remarked: “In Europe on Saturday, we were indebted to both Union Berlin and Le Havre, who saved us from a potential mauling on the continent as their respective seasons concluded.
“In France, we saw wins for 2/5 Lille, 1/6 Lyon, 8/13 Marseille, 4/7 Nantes, 1/2 Nice and 1/10 PSG. Le Havre’s victory over 4/9 Strasbourg, secured by a 99th minute Panenka to avoid relegation, was timely, to say the least.
“Our highlight in the Bundesliga was the turnaround at Augsburg , where the 9/10 hosts went in leading at half-time, only for visitors Union Berlin to bring on Andres Ilic, who saved our bacon with a second-half brace.
“Surprisingly, it was title chasers Napoli (1/2) and Milan (4/6) who came to our rescue in Serie A, with both sides only drawing. Third-placed Atalanta (5/4) had got punters off to a great start by winning 3-2 at Genoa with a record-breaking winner from top scorer Mateo Retegui.
“Barcelona suffered a home defeat to 16/5 Villarreal, but punters were wary of Hansi Flick’s outfit having already been confirmed as champions.
“With Mbappe and Bellingham both on the scoresheet for Real Madrid, plus a number of hotpots obliging, we ended up flat in La Liga.”
Elsewhere, in the weekend’s race meets, the Dante Stakes at York was won by Pride of Arras (18/1), beating favourite The Lion in Winter, who was left back in sixth.
Damysus finished a length and a quarter behind, while Wimbledon Hawkeye settled for third.
The Ralph Beckett-trained colt has seen its odds slashed to 4/1, with some bookies, to win the Derby at Epsom next month.
Attention turns to the Irish 2000 Guineas this weekend, with Field of Gold currently at 8/11 after running well in the Newmarket version and would be deemed unlucky not to win.
Firkins said: “I was at the Dante meeting last week to see the latest Betfred Derby and Oaks trials, with Ralph Beckett’s Pride Of Arras the biggest springer after winning the Dante at odds of 18/1.
“The Rossa Ryan-ridden colt by French Derby winner New Bay is now just 5/1 for the Betfred Derby, while emphatic Musidora scorer Whirl is 10/1 for the Betfred Oaks, given that trainer Aidan O’Brien has an array of talent still in the contest at his disposal, particularly Cheshire Oaks winner Minnie Hauk (6/1) and Lingfield Oaks trial heroine Giselle (8/1).
“It’s the Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh on Saturday, and unlucky Newmarket runner-up Field Of Gold is a shade of odds-on for Team Gosden to have better luck than in the Betfred-sponsored English equivalent.
“Interesting to see who gets the leg-up after Kieran Shoemark’s removal, with Oisin Murphy eye-catchingly taking the Group 1 Lockinge at Newbury on another Gosden colt Lead Artist, again sporting the legendary Abdullah/Juddmonte silks.”
At Newbury, Dancing Gemini could not take the Lockinge Stakes after Lead Artist (17/2) won by a neck to give jockey Oisin Murphy his first victory in the race.
Last year’s Irish 2000 Guineas winner Rosallion finished in third.
Gill noted: “On Saturday at Newbury, the Lockinge went the way of Lead Artist at 17/2, who stayed on gamely under Oisin Murphy to beat the 2/1 favourite Dancing Gemini a neck.
“No surprise we were very happy to see him get his head down at the line to leave us in the black, on what was a great day of racing overall.”
For William Hill, Rory McIlroy failing to win the USPGA meant the bookmaker avoided a seven-figure payout, as well as customers getting their money back as a free bet following an offer from the operator.
Meanwhile, world number one Scottie Scheffler emerged victorious at Quail Hollow Golf and Country Club, with the American now halfway to a career grand slam.
William Hill spokesperson Lee Phelps said: “Scottie Scheffler’s victory at the USPGA Championship may have thrilled golf fans, but it was equally well received at William Hill, with the result sparing us from what could have been another significant seven-figure payout following Rory McIlroy’s triumph at the Masters only last month.
“Scheffler was a popular pick taking a third of winning stakes, but far from our biggest liability – especially compared to some of the fan favourites who attracted massive support before the first tee, namely Justin Rose and Ludvig Aberg.
“But, by far, our worst result would’ve been McIlroy. Not only was he very well-backed, but our offer also meant punters would’ve got their money back as a free bet on any other selections should the Northern Irishman had won back-to-back major championships.
“We had some risky exposures had certain players such as Jon Rahm pulled off a late charge; the Spaniard took 20% of bets on Sunday, but Scheffler’s performance across four days meant we avoided what could’ve been one of our costliest golf events in recent history.”