NOW we know. Lightning doesn't strike twice - especially on the playing fields of England.

I reckon quite a few punters found that out the costly way yesterday.

You see, after that hammering which Liverpool handed Besiktas - the same one which, if inflicted by anyone else, could have seen them charged with assault and battery - many expected Manchester United to go tit-for-tat.

'Anything you can do, we can do better' sort of thing.

So they dived in and plonked good money on 'Any Other Score'.

Singapore Pools had opened their AOS book with an offer of $17 for Manchester United to score six goals or more.

It was far less than the $35 they dangled in front of Liverpool just a day earlier.

But the fish were biting - and very soon, they had taken the bait.

I reckon the money on Manchester United thumping Dynamo Kiev must have come in fast, because by noon it was down to $14 and by dinner time you could get $9 on AOS if you were lucky - or, in hindsight, unlucky.

Yes, they flooded the market thinking that the Red Devils would, as an early 21st anniversary present for Sir Alex Ferguson, give him a basket of goals.

Well, it didn't pan out like they had hoped.

The Manchester United juggernaut rolled on as expected, but, at the end of 90 minutes, the score read 4-0.

At any other time, it would have been seen as a great victory.

But not so, yesterday morning especially for those dreamers who felt so strongly that there should have been six in the bag - at least.

Well, what can I say? Don't be greedy, I guess.

If these same punters felt so strongly about Manchester United being able to knock home six or more goals, they should have had a saver on a 1/2 Goal ticket where they could have more than doubled their investment, be it that Pools were offering $2.30 on a three-goal or more winning margin.

Well, some of us had to learn the hard way.

However, if punters felt like they needed to bruise their knuckles on some English stubble, they should be taking it out on Arsenal?

The stylish Gunners - touted recently as being 'so exciting' - were utterly 'boorrring' in that goalless draw with Slavia Prague.

Statistics showed that they had just one shot on goal. In my book that was giving it away too cheaply - especially since they had started out as $1.35 favourites on the 1x2, with Slavia Prague showing up at $7.20.

If only I knew that Arsene Wenger was going to play a cissy's game of football - and do the barest minimum to ensure qualification - I would have taken the draw which was worth $4.

Well, and from a punter's point of view, the less said about those misfiring Gunners the better. A 0-0 scoreline, what rubbish?

SUBDUED OUTING

Elsewhere, and by their standards, Barcelona had a subdued outing - but at least they put two into the back of the net and some breeze up some Scottish kilts when they played Glasgow Celtic at the Nou Camp.

Theirry Henry and Lionel Messi scored to put smiles on the faces of punters who had taken the $1.58 on the 1/2 Goal.

Sevilla, slowly becoming favourites with punters for their stoic performances recently, rewarded their faithful followers with a comprehensive 2-0 win - scoring goals on both sides of the break to ensure punters collected on all fronts - 1x2 ($1.50), 1/2 Goal ($2.45) and Away-Away ($2.15).

Now, why couldn't Arsenal have done that?

Or, for that matter, why couldn't Manchester United have put in two more? It would have been a much happier holiday for punters.