Weekend Review: Late winners and home hauntings as Chiefs claim back-to-back Super Bowl titles

It was a feast of sporting action over the weekend, with the Premier League, Six Nations and Super Bowl all taking place.

Starting with the Premier League, Erling Haaland got back to his scoring ways in the early kick-off on Saturday as a brace of goals from the Norwegian gave Manchester City (1/5) a 2-0 victory over Everton (12/1) at the Etihad Stadium.

In the 3pm matches, there was late drama at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Spurs (3/4) recovered from an early Pascal Gross penalty to claim victory against Brighton & Hove Albion (3/1).

Pape Matar Sarr scored on his first start since returning from AFCON to bring the game level midway through the second half.

Substitute Brennan Johnson then sent the Spurs’ faithful into raptures when he fired fellow sub Son Heung-Min’s cross into the roof of the net in virtually the last kick of the game.

There were also wins for Brentford (11/5), Liverpool (7/50), Fulham (3/2) and Sheffield United (4/1).

Betfred’s Alan Firkins explained how the early Premier League action set the tone for a punter-friendly weekend.

He said: “Sheffield United’s win at Luton was a brief highlight for us in a generally punter-friendly weekend of Premier League action.

“Haaland’s brace against Everton at the Etihad was costly, the same could be said about Johnson’s last-gasp Spurs winner to defeat Brighton. To be fair, Brentford’s win at Wolves helped a wee bit, but plenty of the favs obliged in style.”

Sunday’s action saw Arsenal (1/2) boost their title credentials with an emphatic 6-0 victory over West Ham United (5/1) at the London Stadium, with the Gunners rushing into a 4-0 half-time lead, sparking a max exodus by the Hammers’ supporters.

Manchester United (2/1) also gave their top four chances a shot in the arm with a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa (6/5) at Villa Park. Rasmus Hojlund gave the Red Devils the lead early on, with Douglas Luiz bringing the Villains back on level terms midway through the second half. Substitute Scott McTominay then popped up with the winner four minutes from time to take United a point behind their hosts and six behind fourth-placed Spurs.

Firkins added: “Man Utd’s gritty win at Villa Park has seen them cut to 9/2 for a top-four finish, and that looked a forlorn hope just a few weeks ago. Spurs and Villa will have them breathing down their necks from here on in.”

Over on the continent, there were big clashes at both ends of the table in Spain and Germany.

In Germany, Bayer Leverkusen (7/5) made a giant leap in their bid to win their first-ever Bundesliga title with a massive 3-0 win at home to fellow title rivals Bayern Munich (9/5). Goals from Josip Stanišić, Alex Grimaldo and Jeremie Frimpong saw Xabi Alonso’s claim a victory in what could be a defining game in the Bundesliga season.

In La Liga, Real Madrid (2/5) won the big clash of the weekend, demolishing this season’s surprise package, Girona (5/1), 4-0, with Jude Bellingham grabbing a brace on the day. Sevilla (5/2) also put some gap between them and the relegation zone with a 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid (1/1) thanks to Isaac Romero’s strike early in the first half. Barcelona (1/5) also lost ground in the title fight by drawing 3-3 with Granada (12/1).

Francisco Cano, head of trading at LiveScore Group, commented: “There were, of course, two matches in Europe that were clear standouts in terms of title-defining affairs, with that being Real Madrid versus Girona and Leverkusen versus Bayern Munich. Those games saw both Madrid and Leverkusen dominate their opponents to extend their leads at the top of the tables to five points.”

Kindred Group’s Ali Gill remarked on how some of the continent’s results boosted the bookies’ bottom line.

He said: “A very different story on the continent, however, as the big guns almost en masse struggled. A 3-3 draw for Barca and defeats for Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Ajax were highlights as we saw accas crumble and singles go our way too.”

The main event across the pond was Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers. The Chiefs ran out 25-22 winners thanks to a touchdown from Mecole Hardman Jr deep into overtime. This result meant back-to-back Super Bowl championships for the Chiefs, a feat not seen since the New England Patriots did the same in 2003 and 2004.

Gill said: “Super Bowl Sunday topped the turnover charts for the weekend as the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes continue to build their dynasty with a thrilling OT win. Despite having the superstar QB, the Chiefs went into the game slight underdogs, and a tetchy first quarter ending 0-0 was what the bookies were looking to see.

“However, the Chiefs’ touchdown with seconds left on the OT clock left us just marginally behind as punters had faith in Mahomes to lead his team to back-to-back Super Bowls, which he duly delivered. All told, however, there wasn’t much in it, all things considered.”

Firkins added: “It was draining, absorbing and an absolute classic. Kansas City were narrow underdogs but were still the choice of many good judges. They became the first side for 20 years to win back-to-back Lombardi trophies and have won three in the last five years. Mahomes has been MVP in each and every one, a generational talent.”

Meanwhile, in horseracing action, the results went more so in the punter’s favour as the vertical counts down to the Cheltenham Festival in March.

Firkins commented: “It wasn’t much better on the racing front, with 16 winning favourites from 30 UK and Ireland races on Saturday (53.33%). The biggest SP at Newbury was 11/2, and with just over four weeks to go until Cheltenham, punters were definitely in the ascendant.

“Talking of the Festival, Edwardstone, brilliant in the Game Spirit, has been cut to 8/1 for the Champion Chase.”

The headline action of the weekend happened over at Newbury, with the Betfair Hurdle taking prime spot.

One of the favourites, Iberico Lord, came out on top in a strong field of 21. Iberico Lord was slightly behind L’Eau Du Sud for most of the race but eventually won by two-and-a-quarter lengths, with Go Dante coming in third.

Gill said: “Despite limited racing on Saturday, Newbury did put on a great show across the card, with the Betfair Hurdle topping the bill.

“Well-backed Iberico Lord ran out an impressive winner, and despite favourite Ocastle Des Mottes failing to fire, punters came out just ahead overall.”