Punter wins £374k from £1 'bet of a lifetime' thanks to late goals

A supporter from Liverpool cashed in on a stunning £374,000 from a £1 bet at the weekend with a seven-fold correct score accumulator.

A man in his fifties placed the incredible bet at the Coral shop in Breck Road, Liverpool which included matches played in England, Italy, Sweden and Portugal.

He correctly predicted five 2-0 scorelines as Manchester City beat Crystal Palace, Chelsea dispatched Fulham, while Milan, Inter and Sporting Lisbon all won their games against Benevento, Crotone and Nacional Madeira by the same margin.

The punter also called two 1-1 draws between Sirius and Kalmar, and Hammarby and Hacken to seal the winning bet.

He won't care, but of course he got a slice of the luck along the way as Sporting Lisbon and Inter scored in stoppage time, while Romelu Lukaku had a goal disallowed for Antonio Conte's men.

And the supporter who wishes to remain anonymous, was in disbelief that the long-shot came in and says the money will "change his life".

He said: "After the first two results came in and I realised the bet was still alive, I began to follow the other matches, and it wasn't easy following the results from around Europe, especially as each one became a winner, I got more and more nervous.

"There were late goals in a couple of the games, which only added to the nerves, and when the seventh result came in, I couldn't believe it, and even when I checked with the staff in the shop and they confirmed it was a winning bet, I had to pinch myself!

"I didn't get much sleep for a couple of nights, and even now it's only just sinking in. This is a life changing amount, and while we'll be investing lots of it, we'll also celebrate in style.

"I do follow the football around Europe, and I like to place a £1 bet on the football most weekends, sometimes it's just a double or treble, but last weekend for some reason these seven matches all caught my eye, but I could never have imagined winning so much money, this really is my bet of a lifetime."

Coral spokesman John Hill added: "This is one of the most extraordinary winning accumulators you are ever likely to see. The plucky punter from Liverpool has gone across Europe to find seven correct scores and has been rewarded with a huge pay-out for just a £1 stake."

He added: "What makes this accumulator even more incredible is that Inter Milan and Sporting Lisbon have both scored late into stoppage time in their respective matches to keep the bet alive. It must have been a rollercoaster ride for the punter over the weekend.

Sign up to the Mirror Football email here for the latest news and transfer gossip.