An unnamed Maltese man was cheering more loudly than any Liverpool fan in the world on November 20th 2011, as Glen Johnson fired home late in the game to give Liverpool a 2-1 win and 3 points.
Why was this man in Malta so pleased?
Because he had just won €683,739.88 after staking a single Euro on a huge 19-fold accumulator.
He had placed the bet on William Hill’s website, and although he was a regular bettor, he never staked more than €1 on anything, so Hill’s certainly didn’t make any money on this punter over the long term.
Around that time, €683,739.88 would be worth around £550,000, and the cost of living in Malta is a lot lower than in the UK, so this punter will have been feeling absolutely loaded after his miraculous win.
A William Hill spokesperson said:
“We cannot recall any punter winning either this much on an accumulator, or landing such stratospheric odds – even though he wasn’t a Liverpool fan before, he tells us he is now!”
The match between Liverpool and Chelsea was the last on the bet to come in, and this was before the option to cash out existed, so the punter just had to sweat it out as Liverpool, the 7/2 underdogs in the game, battled to keep Chelsea at bay who were chasing a home win.
Then, at 87 minutes – and after a very close shave due to a free kick from Didier Drogba – Glen Johnson received a long pass from Charlie Adam on the right wing, dribbled inside, beat Ashley Cole, and smashed the ball into the bottom left corner.
A very dramatic end to the game but an even more dramatic end to the bet, an acca that by all accounts should never have got anywhere near winning, but did.