It wouldn’t be a normal week without a punter taking us to the cleaners and that happened again on Sunday February 20 as one lucky bettor managed to turn a £3 stake into a remarkable £1500.
And this winner really had to use their head – as well as those of Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes – to get one over on the punter’s pal.
See, our plucky punter plumped for the preposterous prediction that both United’s captain Maguire, who hadn’t scored in the league for over a year, and their diminutive playmaker Fernandes – 5ft 10 when he stands on his tippytoes in Cuban heels – would score headers against Leeds on Sunday.
Our traders were taking some of that, offering odds of 500/1 on the pair netting.
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And as the rain poured at Elland Road on Sunday and with conditions affecting the quality of the game in the opening half-hour, it looked a shrewd call.
But then United broke their habit of squandering deadball situations by finally scoring their first goal this season directly from a corner at the 140th attempt, with Red Devils skipper (for now) Maguire heading home Luke Shaw’s delivery.
One down, one to go.
Leeds fought hard to get back into the game before the break, but then United sprung an attack out of nowhere in injury time, with Victor Lindelof charging through the midfield. The defender played a one-two with Jadon Sancho before the ball ended back with the England winger.
Sancho lofted the ball into the Leeds penalty area for Fernandes to power his header into the ground and past Illan Meslier.
That 2-0 half-time scoreline meant our lucky punter scooped a £1500 prize pot for the price of some rip-off coffee. Not bad for 50 minutes of work is it?
To then pile more misery on Paddy, there were five other punters who’d backed the same bet at a smaller stake – and all at the frankly ludicrous 500/1 price! Woof.
The drama continued at Elland Road in the second half, with Leeds scoring twice in two minutes just after half-time through Rodrigo and Raphinha before two of United’s substitutes, Fred and Anthony Elanga, netted in the 70th and 88th minute respectively to seal the three points for the Red Devils.
We doubt they celebrated more than our header-backing shrewdie though.
On me ‘ead, son!
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