Bookmakers report strong Premier League weekend as favourites fall

Arsenal's 1-0 win away at Liverpool, settled by a first-half Kai Havertz goal, helped bookmakers to a favourable weekend of Premier League trading, according to EGR.

The result was Arsenal's first win at Anfield in 14 years and moved Mikel Arteta's side three points clear at the top of the table. Arsenal have since shortened to 1/3 to retain the title.

Manchester City's title odds drifted to 7/1 after a 1-0 defeat at the Etihad to Brighton, who scored through Yasin Ayari. Bet365's Steve Freeth said Brighton had shortened to 12/1 to win the league after the upset.

FDJ United's Ali Gill said the narrow margin of Arsenal's win at Anfield was the best outcome bookmakers could have hoped for from that fixture, and that it ended up the pick of the weekend's results for the book, narrowly ahead of City's defeat to Brighton.

Elsewhere in the Premier League, Chelsea beat a struggling Manchester United 2-0 through goals from Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer, with United's Lisandro Martinez sent off in the second half under pressure on manager Michael Carrick.

Tottenham won their third successive game, beating 10-man Crystal Palace 2-0 at home after Jean-Phillipe Mateta was dismissed. Bournemouth beat Leeds 2-0 and Brentford beat Nottingham Forest by the same scoreline, while promoted sides Hull City and Ipswich drew 2-2 and Aston Villa were held 1-1 by Fulham.

Gill said Villa's draw with Fulham was another good result for the book, though Chelsea's win over United and Bournemouth's victory clawed back some of the margin for punters. Freeth noted five wins to nil across Saturday's fixtures left backers of both teams to score frustrated.

Across Europe, Barcelona maintained their La Liga lead with a 6-1 win over Deportivo Alavés, with Lamine Yamal scoring twice before being substituted for Anthony Gordon, who also found the net. Freeth said the substitution triggered bet365's Sub On Play On concession for hat-trick backers of Yamal, settled at 14/1.

Real Madrid responded with a 3-0 win at Racing Santander, with Jude Bellingham scoring and Kylian Mbappé converting from the penalty spot. In Germany, Bayern Munich drew 2-2 with Borussia Dortmund after Harry Kane missed a second-half penalty.

Paris Saint-Germain returned to the top of Ligue 1 with a 5-1 win over Le Havre, including a hat-trick from Achraf Hakimi. Freeth said one customer had backed Hakimi to score a hat-trick at odds of 125/1.

In Italy, AC Milan beat city rivals Inter 3-1 in the Milan derby, Juventus beat a 10-man Napoli 2-0, and league leaders Lazio, who were priced at 150/1 to win Serie A before the season began, beat Cagliari 2-1 to continue their early-season form.

In horseracing, Aidan O'Brien and jockey Ryan Moore had a successful weekend at the Breeders' Cup in Keeneland, with the Moore-ridden Sun Goddess, sent off the 17/20 favourite, winning the Juvenile Fillies turf on Friday night.