Gunners humiliated in Milan
Soccer Betting Lines
02/15/2012 - Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AC Milan put Arsenal to the sword in convincing fashion at the San Siro, cruising to a 4-0 win over the English side in the first leg of the Champions League knockout round on Wednesday.
The Italian giants scored two goals in both halves as Kevin-Prince Boateng and Robinho gave the Rossoneri a two-goal lead by halftime, while another Robinho strike and a penalty kick from Zlatan Ibrahimovic sealed the win in the second half.
Robinho's brace gives him three Champions League goals for the season, while Ibrahimovic's late penalty sees him preserve his streak of scoring a goal in each of his Champions League appearances this year.
The home side went in front thanks to a beautiful finish in the 19th minute.
Boateng cushioned a pinpoint through ball with his chest on the right side of the box before smashing a volley on the turn into the upper corner of the goal. The ball rattled off the underside of the crossbar and crossed the goal line to hand Milan the lead in stunning fashion.
Antonio Nocerino nearly doubled the advantage moments later when he collected a ball on the right side of the box. The Italian midfielder dribbled inside before unleashing a rocket that sailed just inches high and wide of the goal.
Arsenal's failed attempt at an offside trap helped Milan extend the lead in the 38th minute.
Ibrahimovic broke free on the left flank and made a penetrating run down the side of the box. Arsenal's back four failed to recover as they waited for a raised flag from the assistant referee that never came. The Swedish hit man took advantage, centering the ball to Robinho who nodded his effort to the far post.
The Brazilian hooked up with Ibrahimovic again to produce Milan's third goal of the tie. Ibrahimovic slipped a pass inside to Robinho who capitalized on a fall from Thomas Vermaelen before firing a shot to beat Wojciech Szczesny at his near post.
Arsenal talisman Robin van Persie nearly grabbed a vital away goal in 66th minute with half-volley from close range, but Milan 'keeper Christian Abbiati thwarted the Dutchman's effort with a brilliant one-handed save.
Milan put the tie beyond any lingering doubt in the 78th minute when Ibrahimovic was brought down in the box by Johan Djourou.
The Swedish international slotted the ensuing penalty kick just inside the post to give the Rossoneri a more-than-comfortable 4-0 lead heading into the return leg.
The Gunners undeniably have a mountain to climb in the replay, which will be played on March 6 at the Emirates.
Zenit 3, Benfica 2
Saint Petersburg, Russia - Roman Shirokov scored twice to help Zenit win its first ever match in the knockout round of the Champions League as the Russian side edged Benfica, 3-2, at home on Wednesday.
The visitors grabbed the lead after 19 minutes when a free kick from Oscar Cardozo was stopped by Zenit goalkeeper Yuri Zhevnov but parried right into the path of Maxi Pereira. The Uruguayan defender calmly slotted the ball into the empty net to hand his side the opener.
Zenit responded quickly thanks to a classy finish from Shirokov. The 30-year- old connected on a cross in the 27th minute, guiding a one-time effort across the face of goal and into the far side of the net.
Another brilliant finish from Zenit saw the home side grab the lead in the 71st minute. A bouncing ball played in front of goal was met with great creativity as Sergei Semak flicked a shot behind his standing leg, off the far post and over the goal line.
Benfica took advantage of some more poor goalkeeping in the 87th minute when Zhevnov spilled a shot inside the six-yard box and patted the rebound directly in front of goal. Cardozo was at the right place at the right time and capitalized on the gaffe to level the score.
But Zenit restored its lead a minute later following some sloppy defending from the Portuguese side. A very poor attempt at a clearance helped Shirokov get through on goal. He evaded a defender and skipped past Benfica goalkeeper Artur before slipping a shot into the empty net from a tough angle.
Despite its one-goal deficit, Benfica is still well-positioned to progress as the two away goals mean that the Portuguese side would only have to claim a 1-0 win when the two sides meet at the Estadio da Luz on March 6.
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What Is the Point Spread?
What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
How to Read Point Spreads
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
- Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
OR
- Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.
-
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
- Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
OR
- Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score
Who Really “Won” the Super Bowl odds ?
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.