United aren't only Euro blowout

Runaways ... Barcelona are on fire in La Liga. Source: Manu Fernandez / AP

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini doesn't think the Barclays Premier League title race is over yet.

The defending champions trail their city rivals Manchester United by 12 points after 27 games. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side have sauntered to their lead and Mancini – who famously ruled City out of the race last year – will be hoping for another dramatic twist in the script for the rest of the season. 

"We can't think it's finished with 11 games to go," manager Mancini said after the 2-0 win over Chelsea. "It's not my mentality or the mentality of the players."

As unlikely as a United collapse is, Mancini is not alone in Europe staring down a league-lead deficit; there’s a remarkably similar pattern across three of Europe’s big leagues: big clubs are running away with the title. 

The dominance of these clubs across Europe is a salute to their supremacy in their domestic leagues – and provides a fantastic discussion point when these giants are drawn in European competition. 

It’s interesting to note these blow-outs across Europe at the same time: 

•Premier League: Manchester United are 12 points ahead of City, 27 games played. 

•La Liga: Barcelona are 12 points ahead of Atletico Madrid with 25 games played.

•Bundesliga: Bayern Munich are 17 points ahead of Borussia Dortmund after 23 matches.

It would be wrong to clump Scotland’s Premier League in that calibre of league, but as another point of interest, Tom Rogic’s Celtic are 21 points ahead of Inverness CT at the top of the table. 

Elsewhere, Olympiakos lead the Greek Super League by 16 points ahead of Asteras Tripolis, while in Portugal, Porto and Benfica lead on 52 points – with the next best on 35. 

To a lesser extent, Juventus sit seven points clear in Serie A, while the race is alive in France and Holland. David Beckham’s big-spending Paris Saint-Germain are three points ahead of Lyon, while the Eredevise appears the tightest three-horse race. Perennial giants PSV Eindhoven, Ajax and Feyenoord are split by three points. Russia looks a tight run-in as well, with five points splitting Zenit St Petersburg, FC Anzhi Makhachkala and league leaders CSKA Moscow.

It's an interesting coincidence - a tidbit of information coming at a time when A-League supporters question the relevance, worth and suitability of a ‘first past the post’ system.

For you, does a flat-lining title race make the run home any less exciting? 

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