Big Winning Bets from Thursday's Football, Racing, Darts, IPL & NFL

Who won the Nations League semi-final between France and Belgium?

France will play Spain in the Nations League final after a fantastic comeback against Belgium, rebounding from 2-0 down at half-time to win 3-2 in one of the games of the season so far. Yannick Carrasco put the Belgians ahead eight minutes before the break, and Romelu Lukaku doubled that lead four minutes later with a sumptuous turn and powerful finish. France, who had been second best all over the pitch in the first half, looked a different side in the second 45 minutes, Karim Benzema giving them hope by pulling one back on the hour. Kylian Mbappe equalised from the penalty spot before Lukaku thought he’d won it with three minutes left. That Belgium goal was chalked off by VAR, and France headed up the other end and stole victory themselves thanks to AC Milan full-back Theo Hernandez, who calmly collected a deep cross and fired in the winner.

Total Goal Minutes (settled at 299)

We told yesterday how we’d seen buying in a variety of markets, with punters expecting plenty of goals, and the buyers were proved right as five goals were scored in a classic encounter. Total Goal Minutes (116-126) was the main market we looked at after plenty of buying at 126, and those buyers banked a profit of 173 times their bet, as Total Goal Minutes settled at 299. We also said we’d seen buyers in Shirt Numbers (pre-match spread 25-28, settled at 71 for a profit of 43 times the bet), Total Goals (2.25-2.45, settled at 5 for a 2.55 times profit) and Penalty Goal Minutes (set at 12-15, settled at 69 for a profit of 54 times the bet). In fact, it was only buyers of Headed Goal Minutes (17-20) of the markets we looked at that didn’t make money, with no headed goals!

What happened in yesterday’s horse racing?

There were meetings at Ayr, Exeter and Worcester yesterday, with an evening meeting at Chelmsford. Sam Twiston-Davies only had three rides at the six-race meeting at Worcester, but that didn’t stop him wining two of them, one of the most impressive performances of the day.

Jockey Performance: Sam Twiston-Davies (Settled at 50)

Despite only having three runners, the spread in the Jockey Performance market for Sam Twiston-Davies was set at 21.5-23.5. Jockeys are awarded 25 points for a winner, 10 for 2^nd and 5 for 3^rd, and the fact Sam had odds-on favourite I Like To Move It in the final race meant he was likely to get 25 in that race. His other two runners weren’t given much chance, but Wigglesworth (7/1) won the second race and while 14/1 shot Key To The Moon didn’t do anything in the next, I Like To Move It was too good for the competition in the final race, giving Twiston-Davies a double and buyers of his spread in the Jockey Performance index a profit of 26.5 points.

What happened in the darts World Grand Prix quarter-finals?

World champion Gerwyn Price made short work of Dave Chisnall in the World Grand Prix quarters, moving into the last four with a 3-0 victory despite an indifferent reception from the Leicester crowd. These two played out a classic semi-final last year which the Welshman won 4-3, and while he never got into top gear last night, he was always too good for Chizzy. Next up it’s Stephen Bunting, who Price beat at the same stage in the World Championships. The Bullet secured his last four place by coming from behind to beat Ryan Searle 3-1. In the bottom half of the draw, Dutchman Danny Noppert continued his impressive form with a 3-1 win against Ian White. He now faces Premier League champ Jonny Clayton, who squeezed past Krzysztpf Ratajski 3-2.

Price v Chisnall Multi-180s (settled at 0)

We pointed out yesterday that there has been some money in this market, with the spread set at 16-18, and how Chisnall’s performance was crucial to both buyers and sellers. Chizzy put up a great fight before going down 4-3 in last year’s semi-finals, and if he could push world number one Price again, Multi-180s would be one of a number of markets where the overs would likely land. But if this was a quick match, and Price won 3-0, unders backers would almost certainly be in profit. As it played out, Chizzy couldn’t win a set, and while he did his bit with the maximums, scoring six of them, Price eased to victory without needing to be at his best, hitting no 180s. Multi-180s multiplies the two players’ maximums together, so sellers at 16-18 made 16 times their bet.

What happened in Thursday’s IPL games?

Kolkata Knight Riders all but sealed their play-off place with a massive 86-run win over Rajasthan Royals. Mumbai Indians will have to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by a record 171 runs to deny KKR their top four place after Kolkata thrashed Rajasthan. Shubman Gill top scored with 56 as KKR posted 171-4 and the Royals never got close in the run chase, ending up 85 all out in 16.1 overs in the final group game for both sides. Earlier Chennai Super Kings, who are second in the table and will definitely be in the play-offs, lost to Punjab Kings, who chased down 135 in just 13 overs thanks to KL Rahul’s 98no. Despite this win, the Kings are all but out of the play-off reckoning.

1^st Kolkata Wicket (settled at 79)

The Kolkata openers were in fine form as they defied the pressure to post a first wicket partnership of 79. Shubman Gill (56) and Venkatesh Iyer (38) put on 79 to set a foundation in this crucial game, and buyers who backed them to perform made a tidy profit. The spread for KKR’s 1^st Wicket was set at 28-33, meaning buyers banked 46 times their bet.

Who won NFL Thursday Night Football?

LA Rams improved to 4-1 this season with a 26-17 win at Seattle Seahawks. The home side fell to 2-3, and more worryingly, lost start quarterback Russell Wilson to a hand injury. Wilson has not missed a game in his 10-year NFL career, a streak of 149 regular season games, 165 including play-off games, the longest current streak for NFL quarterbacks.

Darrell Henderson Performance (settled at 124)

This market adds one point per yard rushed or gained, and 25 points extra per touchdown. Rams running back Henderson rushed for 82 yards, a game high, and a crucial touchdown that put LA ahead, having trailed 7-3 at half-time. Buyers of Henderson’s Performance (105-115) made nine times their money.