Raul remains the king of Madrid

• by Soccer America , Jan 21, 2008

[SPAIN WATCH] Atletico is still haunted by the decision of its late president Jesus Gil y Gil to disband its youth program in 1992.

Raul, who was 13 when he switched allegiance from Atletico and Real Madrid because of Gil's decision, scored in just 30 seconds Sunday for La Liga leader in its 2-0 victory at Atletico to give him 11 goals against his former club.

The victory extended Real's dominance over Atletico, which has not won a game in the Madrid derby in nine years.

Hopes of Atletico's first win against Real Madrid at the Calderon Stadium since June 1999 were quickly dashed when Robinho picked Pablo Ibanez on the byline and found Raul free at near post to poke the ball home.

The goal was Raul's ninth of La Liga season, matching his best season output since the 2003-04 season when he scored 11 goals.

Against the run of play, Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy scored his 12th goal of the season late in the first half to clinch the win, the seventh straight for Real Madrid, which has hardly dazzled this season, but it has opened up a commanding lead.

The Merengues remained seven points ahead of second-place Barcelona, a 1-0 winner over Racing Santander, and 12 points ahead of third-place Villarreal, a 3-0 victory over Valencia in their derby on Sunday. Atletico fell to fourth place, 13 points behind Real Madrid.

"It wasn't a spectacular victory, but it was a necessary one," said Real coach Bernd Schuster. "What I'm pleased about is that we are working as hard as every other team, but the quality we have means we are a cut above all our rivals."