It would appear that reports of Barcelona’s demise were greatly exaggerated. Many had lined up in recent weeks to suggest that the Catalan stars were on the wane, their superiority been called into question by a poor run of results, and apparent loss of form of their talisman player, Lionel Messi.
On Monday night, if you listened ever so carefully, you could hear the sound of a nation of football fans collectively slapping their foreheads in despair. Brian McDermott was sacked by Reading.
It was billed as a footballing battle of epic proportions. Jose Mourinho claimed that the world would be watching Madrid and United, and he was probably right. Based on the amount of talk that the game has generated since, I think we can safely assume that it has lived up to all expectations.
I don’t want to give the wrong impression here, because as a supporter of a team who still very much have it all to play for, I am fully aware that the season is not over yet. But with that being said we are heading into March now. The league table is starting to take shape and we are seeing a number of players already making a serious mark on the season.
If, as appears increasingly likely, Manchester United secure yet another Premiership title at some point in the not too distant future, it may well have ramifications that extend beyond the mother of all parties at Old Trafford – that is, auditions for managerial positions among the glitterati can commence in earnest.