Double-trouble Robinho repays Real Madrid faith

MADRID (AFP) - Robinho repaid the faith shown in him by Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster by scoring two crucial second half goals as the Spanish giants edged past 10-man Olympiakos 4-2 in the Champions League here on Wednesday.

The spotlight has been on the Brazilian striker for more than just his scoring ability after he returned late from international duty following Brazil's 5-0 thrashing of Ecuador last week.

He was alleged to have been involved in some late night celebrations which delayed his return to the Spanish capital and Robinho had a face-to-face meeting with Schuster on Monday to provide his explanations.


Nevertheless, Schuster decided to start with Robinho on Wednesday to give him a chance to prove his commitment to the club and, in turn, the player saved Schuster's blushes with a brace of outstanding late goals.

"He's a player who knows how to win games. I'm not going to go back to the other subject. He started hesitantly but after he got his first goal, he was outstanding, playing with much more confidence," praised Schuster.

The victory takes Real Madrid back to the top of the Champions League Group C with seven points from their three games and retains their 100 per cent home record, both in La Liga and in continental competition.

"These were three important points. It makes life a lot less difficult in qualifying for the next round," added a clearly relieved Schuster.

"We suffered. I wasn't happy with the way we started but we showed our character and the players got the fruits of all their hard work," added the German coach, reflecting on the fact that Real had to come from a goal down before triumphing.

Real wasted little time in drawing first blood, with club captain Raul finding the net in under two minutes.

Slack defending left Ruud van Nistelrooy with the space to have a clear shot and although the Olympiakos goalkeeper Antonios Nikopolidis managed to charge down the Dutch striker's shot, the ball fell straight to the feet of Raul.

However, Real were left to regret their over-confidence after taking an early lead.

Olympiakos equalized just five minutes later when former Atletico Madrid midfielder Luciano Galletti was left free to slot home a left foot shot from almost exactly on the penalty spot.

Galletti's goal was created by Predrag Djordjevic, who dashed down the left flank pulling the ball back from the dead ball line.

The drama of the opening exchanges continued unabated when Olympiakos defender Vassilis Torosidis was dismissed after only 12 minutes for holding onto van Nistelrooy on the edge of the penalty area.

However, Olympiakos slowly regained their composure, helped by several good saves by Nikopolidis.

The Greek visitors then stunned the 50,000 Real supporters in the Santiago Bernabeu stadium by taking the lead less than two minutes after the break.

Julio Cesar, who got a Champions League winners medal with Real in 2000, showed his old club he can still turn on the style by breaking free of his marker before pushing the ball past Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

Djordjevic was once again the service provider, sending over a free kick for the Brazilian defender to latch onto.

Real immediately turned up the pressure in a bid to get an equaliser but had to wait until the 67th minute when Sergio Ramos' pass from the right wing found Robinho clear at the far post after 67 minutes and the Brazilian's deft low header just sneaked past Nikopolidis.

Robinho almost got his second when he danced through the Olympiakos defence with 13 minutes to go only for Christos Patsatzoglou to take a blatant kick at his shins.

The Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo had no hesitation in pointing to the penalty spot, and Patsatzoglou was perhaps lucky to stay on the field, but van Nistelrooy then sent the spot kick high into the night.

However, Robinho finally put Real into the lead after 83 minutes when he finished off an inch-perfect pass from van Nistelrooy.

Javier Balboa then added Real's fourth goal two minutes into injury time, the Spanish-born Equatorial Guinea international's first strike in the Champions League.