5-6 City’s title to lose after Liverpool falter

SPORTS BETTING: REACTION to football tactics and results never cease to amaze me.

There were two vivid examples at the weekend: first was Liverpool’s 2-0 defeat by Chelsea at Anfield. Judging by the reaction from home boss Brendan Rodgers – who should be a shoe-in for manager of the year - Chelsea were spoilsports in being so defensive and then hitting their rivals on the break.

What else did the Liverpool boss expect from opposite number Jose Mourinho? Was he supposed to play an expansive game and see his Chelsea team torn apart like so many others this season?

The other football topic of the moment is the ridiculous notion that after one game in charge, Ryan Giggs is suddenly the man to steer Manchester United back to the top.

In Giggs’ first game United beat a Norwich side that will probably be relegated. For 45 minutes, United were no better than under David Moyes. It needed a fortunate penalty for the Reds to break the deadlock.

After a 4-0 win Giggs is being hailed as the next Pep Guardiola. I have rarely heard such nonsense and I bet even Giggs himself is embarrassed by it.

It seems inevitable that Louis van Gaal will justify odds of 2-9 and be the next man in the Old Trafford hot seat (Giggs, for the record, is 13-2, having been 18-1 last week).

Meanwhile, Mourinho will aim to steer his team into the Champions League final by beating Atletico Madrid in the second leg of their semi at Stamford Bridge tonight.

Chelsea are evens to go through - a value bet. Whoever wins faces a huge task against, Real Madrid. The Spanish giants are 4-7 after thrashing Bayern Munich last night.

RECOMMENDATION: Chelsea to qualify for final of Champions League, evens (general).