There’s one Sporting Index punter in particular who probably owes referee Martin Atkinson a drink (or three) after Sunday. The client bought Bookings in the Liverpool v Man City match at 53 pregame, for £250, knowing he needed the equivalent of at least six yellow cards to turn a profit. Mario Balotelli starting on the bench was not, therefore, a fortuitous omen. But when he came on in place of the ineffectual Samir Nasri after 65 minutes, Super Mario was given 25 minutes to make his contribution. And, true to form, he didn’t let us down. He required just 10 minutes to get his first booking for unsporting behaviour and another six to pick up another, for elbowing Martin Skrtel. The make-up stood at 55, past the break-even point, but it was really two more bookings before the final whistle that made the difference, adding an additional £5k to the pot.

Sticking with football, we’re taking a short excursion to l'Espana. I’m afraid I can’t tell you exactly where, because I haven’t the faintest idea where Getafe is. Anyway, it was there, wherever ‘there’ is, that Spanish football fans saw something they really didn’t see coming, like the ending in the Usual Suspects. Barcelona were beaten, and, perhaps more shockingly, didn’t even get on the scoresheet. It goes without saying that a few people who bought Barcelona’s Supremacy lost mucho dinero, with the biggest buy coming at 2.4 for £500. At halftime, with no goals, panic might have crept in, but Barca’s magicians have destroyed teams in far shorter periods than the second half of a match before. Then, on 67 minutes, Getafe defender Juan Valera scored for the hosts. That’s how it stayed, equating to a loss of £1700 for one punter.