Tello, Messi lead Barcelona past Real Sociedad

Soccer Betting Lines

02/04/2012 - Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cristian Tello and Lionel Messi scored a goal apiece as Barcelona edged Real Sociedad, 2-1, at Camp Nou on Saturday to keep pace with Real Madrid in the chase for the La Liga title.

Tello put Barcelona in front nine minutes into the match while Messi and Carlos Vela traded second-half goals in the 72nd and 74th minutes, respectively.

The contest was quite open from the start as the two sides traded clear-cut scoring opportunities inside the opening five minutes.

Messi came close first as he found himself one-on-one with Claudio Bravo, but the Argentine was unable to convert the chance as the Chilean 'keeper produced a fine save.

Real Sociedad responded immediately as Antoine Griezmann found himself through on goal, but it was Victor Valdes's turn to save the day, thwarting the French attacker's attempt to put the visitors in front.

It did not take Barcelona long to finally break through, as Messi turned provider for youngster Tello. The 20-year-old, making his first La Liga start, latched on to a through ball and slipped a shot past Bravo for his first career La Liga goal.

Barcelona nearly grabbed a second goal in the 69th minute when Tello lashed a shot toward goal, but Dani Alves redirected the ball over the goal line from an offside position and the goal was disallowed.

The second goal came just two minutes later as Messi latched on to a curling ball played in behind the Real Sociedad defense and volleyed his effort past an on-rushing Bravo.

Real Sociedad quickly pulled one back, as Thiago Alcantara was caught in possession by Vela, and the Mexican striker slotted a shot past Valdes in the 74th minute.

It proved to be nothing more than a consolation goal for the striker on loan from Arsenal, as the match ended in favor of the reigning European champions.

Barcelona extends its unbeaten run in La Liga play to eight games, but its six draws this season have seen the Catalans fall behind its main title threat. They remain seven points off the pace set by Real Madrid after the Galacticos edged Getafe, 1-0, on Saturday to improve to 55 points on the year.

Real Sociedad falls for the ninth time this season as it occupies 13th place in the table on 24 points.

Real Madrid 1, Getafe 0

Getafe, Spain - Real Madrid narrowly defeated Getafe with a 1-0 win at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez on Saturday to maintain its lead at the top of the La Liga table.

Sergio Ramos provided the lone goal of the game in the 18th minute, helping the visitors claim their fifth-straight victory.

Real Madrid preserves its seven-point lead over Barcelona as it sets the pace in Spain with 55 points through 21 games, while Getafe suffers its first league loss in six matches, remaining tied with Osasuna on 27 points.

Athletic Bilbao 3, Espanyol 3

Bilbao, Spain - Athletic Bilbao and Espanyol played to a back-and-forth 3-3 draw at San Mames on Saturday with all six goals coming from different scorers.

Oscar de Marcos, Fernando Llorente, and Javi Martinez of Athletic Bilbao alternated goals with Romaric and Vladimir Weiss of Espanyol, but it wasn't until second-half stoppage time that the visitors claimed the ultimate equalizer. Uruguayan midfielder Juan Albin scored at the death for Espanyol to split the points.

The two sides remain separated by just two points as Espanyol occupies fifth place on 32 points while Bilbao sits in sixth with 30 points.

Levante 1, Racing 1

Valencia, Spain - Levante and Racing posted goals on opposite sides of halftime as the two teams played to a 1-1 draw at the Ciutat de Valencia on Saturday.

Arouna Kone opened the scoring for the home side in the 23rd minute, but it was canceled out by Racing's Manuel Arana in the 61st minute.

Levante remains fourth despite staying level with Espanyol on 32 points, while Racing's second-straight draw lifts the club to 22 points, two points clear of the relegation zone.

Mallorca 1, Real Betis 0

Mallorca, Spain - Mallorca claimed a 1-0 win over Real Betis in an ugly affair at the Estadio Son Moix on Saturday.

Chori Castro notched the lone goal of the game in the 24th minute, but it was overshadowed by red cards issued to Ivan Ramis and Victor of Mallorca as well as Mario of Real Betis in the second half.

Real Betis has lost three of its last four to drop to 14th place on 23 points, while Mallorca jumps to 12th place by improving to 25 points.

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Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.