That’s a tough one to take.
One of our footy flutterers came within a Diego Costa two-goal-haul-and-late-red-card performance of taking home almost £90k after putting together a sensational streak of winners since European football returned, but fell one game short of netting the giant jackpot following RB Leipzig’s win in Lisbon on Thursday night.
Who’s on the move this summer? Get the latest odds at PaddyPower.comYou’d think Simeone’s Atletico Madrid would be just the team to dig in a grind out the final winner to bring home an acca with odds of more digits than Piers Morgan has mates, but you’d have been wrong this time as the grittiest grafters in the game were gulped down by the effervescently fizzing forward press of Red Bull FC.
Up to then, it had all been going so well, with 15 correct picks including calling all eight Europa League post-lockdown last 16 games – a punt that, on its own, would’ve paid out over £750 from the £4.70 stake.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – MARCH 11: Diego Simeone, Manager of Atletico Madrid celebrates his sides second goal during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg match between Liverpool FC and Atletico Madrid at Anfield on March 11, 2020 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Throw in a couple of leagues that have already started their 2020-21 campaigns – Apollon Limassol in Greece and Roda JC in the Netherlands both adding wins at over evens – and those ten winners would’ve been enough for almost £3,500 altogether.
RECOMMENDED READING:
- All the latest football previews from across UK and European Football are just a click away
- Placing bets is easier than ever with Paddy Power News’ live odds banners
- Revealed: Anelka ‘requested transfer to another documentary’ during Netflix filming
They then managed to call all four remaining games in the Champions League last 16 too – Barca beating Napoli, Bayern manhandling Chelsea, City strolling past Madrid thanks to Rafa Varane, and Juve winning against Lyon at home but exiting on away goals – the four short-priced favourites lifting the return to £17,781 with just two legs left to play.
Most impressive off all because you’d expect one of these European games to be a bore draw.
And it almost fell apart on Wednesday night, but the heroic performance of Stoke “legend” Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting with his match-changing turn off the bench not only rescued PSG’s Champions League hopes but pushed this punt to the brink of a bonanza payout. The French champs’ injury time winner took this to 15-straight-winners, a set of results that would’ve returned just over £40,000!
Neymar gave his Man of the Match award to Choupo-Moting after the game 🥰#UCL pic.twitter.com/5rCcjHSXPa
— GOAL (@goal) August 12, 2020
But there’s always one, isn’t there?After the drama of Wednesday night you’d think it’d surely be plain sailing for the final game, but no.
RB Leipzig popped our punter’s bubble with a 2-1 win over Atleti, wiping out this shrewd acca – and the tidy sum of £89,607 – at the final hurdle.
Paddy’s having a cool, refreshing can of his favourite energy drink to mark this very close call, so if you see him flying by your window at any point in the next few days, do not be surprised.
Who’s on the move this summer? Get the latest odds at PaddyPower.com