Real Madrid and Manchester United may have safely qualified for the Champions League knockout stages before tonight's action, but defeats for both heavyweight clubs has forced the bookmakers into easing both clubs for the title at the end of the season.
Under Zinedine Zidane Real Madrid have dominated the premier European club competition in recent times winning the last three tournaments, but since the Frenchman has left the Bernabeu and a certain Cristiano Ronaldo has gone on to pastures new with Juventus then the Spanish giants are a shadow of their former self.
A club steeped in history, Real suffered their biggest ever home European defeat this evening as they lost 3-0 to CSKA Moscow and while they have qualified in top spot in their group they have been eased from 10/1 to 12/1 to make it four Champions League titles in a row. The current crop at Real are certainly not reaching the heights expected of them, but they can't be completely discounted for glory as this has been a competition in recent years that they have blossomed in on the big occasions, so while Zizou is not a part of the operation now they could still have a big say on proceedings.
On the contrary, Manchester United have gone from the premier English club to an also-ran in the Premier League and the Champions League. A drab 2-1 defeat to Valencia this evening, which included a hilarious Phil Jones own-goal, may not have mattered in the grand scheme of things with Jose Mourinho's men progressing to the last-16, but the bookies were quick to ease them in the betting.
Around 28/1 shots before a ball was kicked tonight, another mediocre display from a United squad that have one eye on their monster weekend clash with Liverpool has now seen Mourinho's men drift to 40/1 to claim the trophy next year.
