Own goal - part one

Did you watch Real Madrid v Real Valladolid last week? You did? Did you spot the absence of frenzied euphoria amongst the Valladolid…

Did you watch Real Madrid v Real Valladolid last week? You did? Did you spot the absence of frenzied euphoria amongst the Valladolid players when they equalised in the 87th minute? You did? Explanation? The Valladolid lads (plus staff) enter a weekly betting syndicate and, last week, they forecast 13 correct results - the only one they got wrong was ... Real Madrid v Real Valladolid. Yep, they tipped Madrid to win. And how much would they have won if Madrid had gathered maximum points? Um, £3.2 million between 30 of them.

Mary Hannigan

Mary Hannigan

Mary Hannigan is a sports writer with The Irish Times