Aston Villa 1 Bayern Munich 0 (a punter’s view) …
I have a confession to make, namely that I’m going off golf betting.
It’s always been my sport and I have been attracted to the betting element because of the odds and the fact it’s largely a clean sport where luck plays little part. The problem is that it’s a big field and the best winning method is an each-way bet.
However, I have discovered that betting against a favourite in soccer affords better opportunities.
Bayern Munich were 5/8 on to beat Aston Villa. Yet Villa Park was bound to be febrile as Aston Villa beat them in 1982 to win the old European Cup.
Unai Emery has revived Villa’s fortunes and they are a challenging team. So I bet against Bayern. They were the better team, but the league stage of the Champions League is not the “business end” and the referee was poor.
Villa did “score” in the first half, only to have the goal chalked off by VAR.
It was the sub Jhon Duran – a young Columbian – who eventually did score with an extravagant lob.
Though Bayern had their chances, Villa managed to hold onto the lead.
The Prince of Wales and TNT commentator Darren Fletcher could hardly contain themselves and it was a “night of nights” for both the Villa Faithful … and me.
