Weekend Review: Leicester upset the odds with late winner in Community Shield
EFL gets underway with favourites fluffing their lines as curtain comes down on Olympic Games in Tokyo
Leicester City proved their FA Cup Final victory in May was no fluke with a 1-0 win over free-spending Manchester City in the Community Shield at Wembley.
The Foxes, a 13/5 chance within 90 minutes before the encounter on Saturday, left it late with Kelechi Iheanacho’s 89th minute penalty but probably deserved to win on the balance of play.
All the attention in the run up to the match had been on Jack Grealish, who Man City signed last week for a British transfer record of £100m from Aston Villa.
However, the England star was unable to unlock Leicester’s defence when he came on as a substitute after 64 minutes.
“Obviously not the result the punters expected as we came out comfortably ahead in that one,” revealed Kindred Group’s Alistair Gill.
Goodnight, Foxes fans! 💙 pic.twitter.com/AsLAqjYrYe
— Leicester City (@LCFC) August 7, 2021
The blue half of Manchester are still odds-on favourites, generally 4/6 and 8/11, to retain their Premier League title this upcoming season, which kicks off at the weekend.
Betfred’s Alan Firkins said: “All roads lead to Friday’s Brentford versus Arsenal clash to herald the start of Premier League hostilities, with Man City plenty short enough at 4/6 to retain their crown.
“If their pursuit of Harry Kane is successful, expect that to be even skinnier.”
Elsewhere, the EFL got underway at the weekend, yet some big shock defeats for leading title favourites in the Championship and League One will have bust plenty of accas.
Sheffield United were warm favourites at 4/6 against Birmingham but in the end suffered a 1-0 loss to the Blues (5/1) thanks to a 19th minute header from French defender Maxime Colin.
🔥 Scenes in that away end! Our #MondayMotivation right here! pic.twitter.com/Jxp9SbVen7
— Birmingham City FC (@BCFC) August 9, 2021
Like the Blades, Fulham were looking to get off to winning ways after sliding through the Premier League trap door into the Championship last season.
That failed to materialise, though, as the London club – slight odds-on chances before kick-off in Sunday lunchtime’s game – could only manage a 1-1 draw against Middlesbrough.
A defeat for Nottingham Forest (5/4) versus Coventry, along with draws for Derby (6/5) at home to Huddersfield and League One title contenders Ipswich (4/7) against Morecombe left the bookies smiling.
Gill said: “Round one of the Championship went to the layers as results largely went our way.
“Sheffield United’s loss to Birmingham was the pick of results in terms of P&L, with Fulham’s draw to Middlesbrough not far behind.”
Finally, the Olympic Games came to an end with the closing ceremony on Sunday following 17 days of thrilling action in Tokyo.
Despite there being no crowds due to Covid-19, the event was a resounding success while Great Britain matched their London 2012 tally of 65 medals, including 22 golds, to finish fourth on the medal table.
Prior to these postponed Games, the layers were predicting Team GB would struggle to replicate their success and medal hauls of the previous two Olympics in Rio and London.
BoyleSports and Ladbrokes had set the under/over line for golds at 14.5 and 13.5 respectively, proving that the bookies aren’t always right.
With 39 golds, the USA pipped China (38 golds) to top spot on the medal table on the very last day of competition as the USA women’s volleyball team secured the final gold.
The American team took home an impressive total of 113 medals, making it the seventh consecutive Olympics the USA has scooped the most overall gold, silver and bronzes.
About last night… 😍#Tokyo2020 #ClosingCeremony #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/pNhqa0lWcN
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 9, 2021
Gill said: “We saw some fantastic numbers, and all things considered the event as a whole just about went our way in terms of results.
“Football comfortably topped the turnover charts in terms of sports, as well as being our most profitable event, with handball and tennis completing the podium.”
Meanwhile, Firkins said: “After so, so many difficulties getting the show on the road, the Olympics gave us all a terrific shot in the arm, much as the Euros had, emphasising our enduring love affair with top sport and the brilliant stories it throws up.”