Longshot accas, with numbers of legs that run into double figures, should be treated as exactly what they are: an incredibly low probability way to score a winning bet.
But for the lucky few, every once in a blue moon, these ridiculous betslips come up trumps at huge odds.
One Betfair customer joined that elusive group at the weekend when their 18-fold acca – a continental smorgasbord of match winner selections – somehow managed to land.
And the coup saw them turn their £10 stake into a £39,458 payout!
Home Comforts
It was a case of home comforts for the anonymous individual, whose coupon was made up of 17 home wins and a solitary away victory.
But to offer some context as to the nerves they must have felt, six of those triumphs came by a single goal margin.
There were no concerns for Manchester City, who – despite a red-hot reception at Anfield following their guilty verdict in the charges case – showcased their class in a 3-0 victory over Liverpool.
They benefitted from the red card shown to Ryan Gravenberch, of course, but the introduction of Jeremy Doku as a second-half substitute was the real difference-maker – he scored the second and was a constant thorn in Liverpool’s side as Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki completed the rout.
But Southampton’s win over Portsmouth was fraught with risk when their midfielder, Cameron Bragg, was sent off on the stroke of half time.
Thankfully for the Saints, James Bree had already given them the lead… and there would be no more scoring in the South Coast derby.
Freiburg were also reduced to ten men in their German Bundesliga contest with Schalke, with the game finely poised at 1-1. And yet it was the hosts, despite their numerical disadvantage, that would go on to find a winner courtesy of Keisuke Goto.
The second tier of German football was also good to our punter. St Pauli cruised to a 2-0 verdict against Karlsruher, while Hertha Berlin hung on to their 2-1 supremacy against Greuther Furth.
Reign in Spain
The next stop-off on our European tour is Spain.
A chaotic encounter between Real Sociedad and Deportivo was fantastic for the neutral… less so for our punter, who was put through the ringer in a contest saw five goals and two red cards.
Sociedad raced into a three-goal lead, were pegged back to 3-2 and had a player sent off… but they were just about able to hang on to the three points.
Elsewhere in La Liga, Real Betis also romped into a 3-0 lead… and they were able to round out the victory in comfy fashion by a scoreline of 5-2 against Osasuna.
Three seemed to be the magic number for our punter, who saw his two La Liga 2 picks also notch three times: Mallorca and Almeria defeating Las Palmas and Leganes 3-1 and 3-0 respectively.
A hop over the border into Portugal handed the Betfair customer their next triumph as well, with Benfica running out 2-0 winners against Vitoria de Guimaraes.
Nail-Biting Finale
Rennes demolished Auxerre 4-1 in our punter’s sole selection in France, while their only foray into the Italian Serie A concluded in a 3-1 success for Lazio against Monza.
FC Utrecht left it late in their 3-1 triumph against Willem II, with goals in the 75th and 90th minutes sealing the deal, while up in Denmark a first-half masterclass saw Brondby cruise into a 3-0 lead over Lyngby – they saw out the contest as 5-2 winners.
The continental jaunt continued across Turkey and Poland. Besiktas, for whom former Arsenal winger Leandro Trossard started, edged Kocaelispor 2-1, while a pair of 2-0 wins for Legia Warsaw and Pogon Szczecin wrapped up another successful leg of the journey.
And where better to sign off on our expedition than beautiful Switzerland: St Gallen defeating Lausanne courtesy of a first-half penalty.
So there you have it: 18 selections, 17 home winners, 1 away victor and a return of £39,458 from a £10 stake at odds of 3,972/1.
Betfair’s spokesperson James Mackie said:
“It was a weekend to remember for one Betfair punter, as the return to domestic football saw them score big on Sunday.
“At odds of 3972/1, the accumulator only looked to have one nervy moment, coming in the German Bundesliga, where third-placed Freiburg managed an 85th-minute winner to see off Schalke. With the rest of the selections landing, they took away a superb amount of money.”