Late VAR intervention in Liverpool’s Carabao Cup defeat helps net punter £39,000

IN the grand scheme of things, the late VAR intervention to award Federico Chiesa’s consolation at Wembley didn’t mean much.

For one William Hill punter, it might well have changed their life.

William Hill bet winner

Sunday’s bet

• Man United 3-0 (Leicester v Manchester United) – Correct Score – 14/1
• Newcastle 2-1 (Liverpool v Newcastle) – Correct Score – 12/1
• PSG (PSG v Marseilles) – Match Result and Both Teams To Score – 17/10
• Barcelona (Atletico Madrid v Barcelona) – Match Result and Both Teams To Score – 11/4

• Odds: 1,937/1
• Stake: £20
• RETURNS: £39,467.84

The anonymous bettor stuck on a Sunday four-fold which included two correct scores and two results with both teams scoring.

The first of those to kick-off was the memorable Newcastle win in the Carabao Cup final – their first trophy in 70 years.

Dan Burn and Alexander Isak’s goals had the Magpies in a deserved 2-0 lead and they could’ve been further ahead.

But with the correct score (12/1) selection of 2-1 to Eddie Howe’s heroes, the punter’s head must’ve been in their hands when Chiesa slotted beyond Pope in stoppage time only for the flag to go up.

VAR would step in to hand the Reds a lifeline by confirming the Italian was onside but it wasn’t enough for them. Great news for our bettor.

Then it was onto the late Premier League game when a Bruno Fernandes-inspired Manchester United thumped toiling Leicester City 3-0 at the King Power.

The Portuguese star – by far and away United’s best player and again the star man on the park – capped off a terrific display with an injury time stunner of his own to keep the four-fold alive with that 14/1 result.

£20 ➡️ £39,467.50 🤑

It was a Super Sunday for William Hill Acca punters with over £150k in winnings across a series of Accas, including this one below! 🤯👇

18+ | https://t.co/YhEVj27I2j pic.twitter.com/djVSOyTVNP

— William Hill (@WilliamHill) March 17, 2025

It was then onto the continent to round off the bet, with PSG and Barcelona in action against very tough opponents in Marseille and Atletico Madrid, respectively.

This time it was match result and both teams to score the punter needed, with PSG (17/10) holding a 2-0 lead at half time against Marseille who sat 16 points behind the Parisians in second spot before kick-off.

Marseille would get one back shortly into the second period before PSG sealed the victory with 15 minutes to go.

Yet more drama was to come with Barcelona (11/4) AWAY at Atletico and despite all the cards falling right up until now, Atleti would find themselves 2-0 up on 70 minutes to seemingly kill the bet.

Robert Lewandowski got one back shortly after before Ferran Torres’ equaliser on 78 minutes set up a grandstand finish.

Then up steps Lamine Yamal in the 90th minute to complete the sensational turnaround before Torres added a fourth in stoppage time.

A seismic result for Barca in the La Liga title race and the icing on the cake in a dramatic day for the punter who landed a quite astonishing 1,937/1 bet to pocket £39,467.84.

Spokesperson for William Hill, Lee Phelps, said: “VAR has hardly been a fan favourite since its introduction a few years ago, but one lucky punter will certainly be thanking the Stockley Park officials after they correctly overturned Federico Chiesa’s offside goal for Liverpool against Newcastle on Sunday.

“With our customer needing a 2-1 Newcastle victory as part of a huge 1,937/1 accumulator and the Magpies leading 2-0 with just moments to spare, VAR’s decision to award Chiesa’s last-minute strike netted them a whopping £39,467 from a £20 stake.”