IT was always going to be the most Spanish of affairs. Rafael Benitez returned to his home land accompanied by the usual assortment of his fellow countrymen – but nothing it seems will integrate Xabi Alonso back into the Liverpool fold.

Alonso was back on home soil last night as Liverpool kept an appointment to be guests of honour at the opening of Espanyol’s magnificent new Cornella stadium.

He made a brief appearance on the night – but the likelihood is that the Kop’s very own midfield maestro will be spending a lot more time in his native Spain from now on.

For while Real Madrid was never a realistic destination for Benitez five months ago it is becoming increasingly difficult to envisage a scenario which does not involve the Bernabeu opening its gates to welcome Alonso as the latest recruit to the second generation of galacticos.

The question of how the 27-year-old will be replaced and how Liverpool will fare without him is yet to be answered of course and last night Benitez began to address that situation by leaving Alonso on the bench and affording him no more than a belated run-out on what could be his a farewell appearance.

It is only those who have something to offer Liverpool in the season to come who matter to the manager and the clash with Espanyol was his latest opportunity to decipher who will be of most use to him in the weeks and months ahead.

With the big kick-off now just a fortnight away Benitez is starting to offer fewer opportunities to the fringe members of his squad and the starting line-up to face Barcelona’s less illustrious neighbours reflected this change of emphasis.

With the exception of Mikel San Jose, who came into the side for the injured Daniel Agger, the rest of the side would be seen as first team regulars. As the summer series of phoney wars draws to a close so the feeling grows that Liverpool are readying themselves for their latest battle with the rest of the English elite.

That made their encounter with an Espanyol team desperate to impress on their debut performance in their new home such a worthwhile exercise at this stage of their preparations.

The full house demanded an occasion to remember on such a significant date in their club’s history and from the very first blast of referee Xavier Fernandez’s whistle the men in blue and white responded with a display full of determination and vigour which made for a much more competitive match than is the norm in such fixtures.

Luis Garcia – not the one who drinks sangria – etched his name into Espanyol folklore by scoring the first ever goal at the Cornella after some hesitant defending from the visitors.