No end in sight to Spanish reign

LAST time around, we had to wait until the very last game of the season for confirmation of what we had long suspected: Manchester United are not in the same league as Barcelona.

This time around, we have barely had to wait for a ball to be kicked in anger to come to much the same conclusion. But with the additional bad news for the champions of England that now they may not be in the same league as Real Madrid either.

This can only be interpreted as a significant development for La Liga too, bearing in mind that when the four-in-a-row El Clasicos were unfolding last April, the peerless Jamie Redknapp made an audacious bid for punditry’s always keenly-contested Foot In Mouth Of The Year gong by baffling Sky Sports’ viewers with the revelation that: “Real Madrid are not in the same league as Barcelona.” (As an aside, Redser better keep on his toes this term since new boy Gary Neville is already showing considerable early promise. Commenting on a contentious incident in the box during the opening day’s Stoke-Chelsea fixture, he sagely observed: “Anywhere else on the pitch, that’s a penalty”).