For the second time this season, Liverpool responded to Wembley glory in a deeply dissatisfactory manner, enduring their ninth defeat of 2012 and arguably the most painful yet, inflicted as it was by much ridiculed ex-boss Roy Hodgson.
It was a brilliant result for the Betfair correct score punters who foresaw the Reds' home struggles continuing though, as a £10 flutter on West Brom winning 1-0 produced a £247 profit - even accounting for 5% commission*. SportingBet paid out only £160 on the same outcome.
The FA Cup finalists' latest shock setback provided another statistic for Kenny Dalglish's detractors to pounce upon, as their conquerors have now claimed as many points since Hodgson's arrival last February as Liverpool have collected in the same period.
Had the campaign started on January 1, Dalglish's men would be 19th, four points from safety but more alarmingly five points worse off than Bolton and Blackburn and seven shy of Wigan. An FA Cup triumph might be enough to save the Anfield icon however, and is 2.3411/8 to be achieved.
There was also more money to be made betting against other people on Betfair as the gap at the top of the Premier League was sliced to three points ahead of next Monday's decisive Manchester derby.
A £10 stake on Everton holding Manchester United at both half-time and full-time at Old Trafford delivered a £70.30 return, compared to just £55 with William Hill.
Manchester City took full advantage with a 2-0 victory at Molineux that saw Wolves relegated and turned £10 into £70.30 for Betfair customers, a significant increase on the £50 earned by Coral bettors for the exact same wager.
Roberto Mancini maintains that his side remain huge outsiders, humorously pointing out that the media said the exact same thing a few days ago, but their title odds are now in to 2.962/1 on Betfair.
*Betfair generally charges 2-5% commission on net winnings. Further charges may apply. Where comparisons are made, they are based on bets being struck just before kick-off. See betchecker.betfair.com/football.