After the summer that Real Madrid had it is little wonder that they have been touted as the team to beat for this season's La Liga. Naturally they are always considered amongst the favourites for any competition, history and reputation dictates it, but even by their own standards the summer of 2009 was a bold and expensive one.
For approximately £215m Real Madrid purchased four high-profile players; Kaká, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Xabi Alonso. The most lavish spending spree in football history has put Real Madrid on a pedestal once again.
Many have argued that whilst it's not unusual for big clubs to spend vast amounts of money, for Real to have splurged such figures in the space of one transfer window and during a global recession is verging on tasteless. That may be so, but it doesn't stop the majority of fans in awe of the team that they have built, and it doesn't necessarily guarantee success.
What is certain is that Real's new manager Manuel Pellegrini is in a pressure cooker situation. This isn't unusual when you consider how even winning La Liga hasn't saved the job for previous incumbents such as Vincente del Bosque and Fabio Capello. The only difference this time is that Pellegrini has even less time to lose to secure trophies (if that's possible).
This is inevitably where Barcelona come into play. The historical rivalry between the Catalan club and Real Madrid is all the more fierce when considering the political implications of old. Realistically it will be up to Josep Guardiola and co. in order to stop 'Los Blancos' from re-claiming La Liga from them.
As things currently stand not too much has changed from last season, eight games into the new season and Barcelona are top of the pile with Real Madrid chasing them from second spot. The Champions League holders have negotiated the league without suffering a defeat and have dropped points just the once, after a 0-0 draw away at Valencia on October 17th.
Real meanwhile have flattered to deceive. They are only three points behind Barcelona due to their 2-1 away loss to Sevilla at the beginning of the month, but they haven't steamrollered opponents. They did start the season with seven straight victories in the league and Europe, but since their reverse at Sevilla the club's form has taken a nose-dive.
They failed to get a result when AC Milan came to the Santiago Bernabéu in the Champions League recently. The 3-2 defeat was justified on the balance of play, and it may well have given Leonardo some breathing space as he gets to grips with management.
For Pellegrini though, things have contrived to get worse for him. That result was followed by a laboured 0-0 against Sporting Gijón, this put them at the top of La Liga but only for a mere 24 hours before Barcelona destroyed Real Zaragoza 6-1 last Sunday.
The new signings have been working for Real though. Ronaldo became the first player ever to score in his first 4 league games for the club, Kaká has shone in patches and Benzema has also scored 3 times in La Liga. It appears that Real's problems lie in the fact that they are still sometimes slack in defence, they may have bought the World's best rated players but their hero is ultimately Iker Casillas.
For Pellegrini's sake it must be hoped that Real reached the nadir of their season on Tuesday evening. They faced Agrupación Deportiva Alcorcón (to give them their full name!) in the 4th round of the Copa del Rey and were embarrassed 4-0. The tie may be over two legs with the return at the Bernabéu, but the damage has been done by the Segunda B side (third division).
Since the result, Pellegrini has been lambasted by the Spanish press. The sports daily 'Marca' stated that the Chilean coach should "Leave Now", whilst the paper 'AS' described the defeat as the "ridicule of the century". When it comes to football the Spanish press can be like the Sun at it's shallow best, only with at least some wit and humour included.
Barcelona may have been cruising through the league so far, but they are not without their problems either. Josep Guardiola may have delivered an emphatic riposte to his critics when he secured the league and Champions League double last season, but unbelievably there are still some doubters around.
Their last Champions League outing ended in their only defeat so far this season, a 2-1 loss at the Nou Camp to the Russian champions Rubin Kazan. In the grand scheme of things there is little to worry about for Barcelona. However they have a proud record at home and when the visitors took the lead with 17 minutes to go, the least that would have been expected was a grandstand finish and an equaliser.
As for the other threats to the big two? Sevilla proved with their defeat of Real that they are a contender, at least as far as matching them on a given day. Their league form has seen them suffer two defeats and they lie in third, three points off of Real Madrid. Both came away from home to Valencia and Deportivo de La Coruña, who are fourth and fifth respectively.
Speaking of Valencia, they have been defeated just the once up to this point and it seems that any financial worries surrounding the club are not being detrimental to the team's performances. More significant is the fact that they have held on to David Villa who has been outstanding as usual, scoring seven times in as many La Liga appearances. If they want to challenge though then they must hold off suitors for Villa all over again come January, Mr Ferguson you have been warned...