Liverpool, PSG, and Barcelona had been among the many outsiders to win at nice odds throughout the 2024-25 season, whereas the favorites faltered. [Image: Shutterstock.com]
One other season of European soccer is accomplished, and there have been a great deal of shocks and surprises alongside the way in which. With loads of main trophies being picked up by outsiders, it’s time to look again at what the bookies bought fallacious and proper about final season.
Premier League winner
The bookies had Manchester Metropolis and Arsenal because the main two favorites going into the marketing campaign, with Metropolis barely favoured at 6/5 over Arsenal at 13/8. After all, in actuality, the title was gained quite simply by the third-favorite Liverpool after a surprising mid-season collapse by Metropolis and an underwhelming marketing campaign from Arsenal.
longest-odds Premier League winner since Leicester Metropolis’s unbelievable 5000/1 triumph
Liverpool was so long as 8/1 going into opening day, surprisingly making them the longest-odds Premier League winner since Leicester Metropolis’s unbelievable 5000/1 triumph – a feat that may doubtless by no means be replicated.
Premier League prime goalscorer
Mohamed Salah had surprisingly lengthy odds to win the highest goalscorer award within the Premier League, however this was owed rather a lot to Erling Haaland’s terrifying kind over earlier seasons, which made him an enormous odds-on favourite at 4/6.
Salah was out there at 10/1 to complete highest on the scoring charts, making him an awesome win for whoever predicted his stellar marketing campaign. Haaland’s low odds additionally opened up loads of each-way worth, with Alexander Isak and Chris Wooden the picks of the bunch.
The Liverpool-Salah double would have seen barely lowered odds as the 2 occasions are correlated, however would have nonetheless been out there at odds of round 60/1, making it top-of-the-line bets of the season.
Relegation
The three promoted groups had been as soon as once more consigned to relegation in 2025, with all three shortly trying doomed and ending effectively beneath seventeenth place. This mirrored the percentages going into the marketing campaign, with Leicester, Ipswich, and Southampton priced at 4/9, 10/11, and 6/5, respectively, to maneuver down.
Champions League
Few would doubt that Paris Saint-Germain was effectively deserving of their first-ever Champions League title, as they merely outclassed their opposition at each flip earlier than completely demolishing a really strong Inter Milan facet within the remaining. Nevertheless, this didn’t mirror their outsider odds of 18/1 in the beginning of the season, making them the very best odds winners of all the foremost tournaments.
Above them within the betting markets pre-season had been Manchester Metropolis, Bayern Munich, Actual Madrid, and Arsenal, all of whom had disappointing campaigns. Barcelona, who are actually extensively thought of to have been the second-best crew in Europe over the season, had been simply sixth favorites at 14/1.
Different leagues
The perfect wager to be discovered amongst league winners was in all probability Napoli, with Scott McTominay powering them to a surprising Serie A title. In simulations run by Opta’s supercomputer, the Partenopei got only a 0.4% likelihood of lifting the title, however ultimately secured it on the ultimate day, partially due to their talismanic midfielder, who additionally picked up the Serie A participant of the 12 months.
Napoli’s slim probabilities, based on the stats, weren’t backed by the bookie’s odds being fairly so excessive, however they might nonetheless be gotten at 7/1 earlier than the marketing campaign kicked off.
PSG had been unsurprisingly very quick odds, though the 1/4 would possibly seem like worth in hindsight
Elsewhere, Actual Madrid had been closely favored in the beginning of the season, with Barcelona being out there at 7/2 earlier than the season commenced. In Germany and France, in the meantime, the heavy favorites prevailed, with Bayern reclaiming the league title at 4/9 odds. PSG had been unsurprisingly very quick odds, though the 1/4 would possibly seem like worth in hindsight, given how completely dominant they had been over the season.
Greatest wager of the season
A wager on Liverpool to win the Premier League, Barcelona to win La Liga, and PSG to win the Champions League sounds pretty affordable in hindsight, though all had been outsiders in the beginning of the season. Accordingly, $10 positioned on this treble would’ve returned a whopping $7,695 on the finish of the season.
Worst wager of the season
Betting on the underdogs would have been by far one of the best technique for 2024-25, with solely Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich profitable main trophies after getting in as favorites. Accordingly, there have been loads of low-odds bets that didn’t materialize over the course of the season. A few of the picks the place the bookies profited had been Erling Haaland to win the Golden Boot at 1/8 and Actual Madrid to win La Liga at 4/9.
Nevertheless, for some low-odds bets which had been really nowhere close to hitting, the choose absolutely has to go on Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur to attain top-four finishes at 21/10 and 9/4. In actuality, the 2 completed simply outdoors the relegation locations after really dreadful seasons, solely escaping a relegation battle due to the notably poor high quality of the underside three.
