Julio Baptista gave Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster the Christmas present he wanted by getting the only goal in a hard-fought 1-0 win over their bitter rivals Barcelona on Sunday. The rugged Brazilian striker - nicknamed The Beast - found the net after 36 minutes to bring to an end to Barcelona's 100 per cent home record in their Nou Camp stadium this season, both in La Liga and the Champions League.
"I thought we could have got a second goal. We had two or three good attacks in the second half but, overall, it's a fair result," said Schuster.Real's triumph puts them firmly in lead of the Spanish championship race and they are now the overwhelming favourites to retain their title.
The 30-time Spanish league winners have 41 points from the 17 games and have extended their lead to seven points over second-placed Barcelona.
"It's good to get the points but nothing's decided yet. Let's wait until the end of the season until we starting talking about trophies," said the ever-prudent Schuster. His opposite number Frank Rijkaard was visibly disappointed at the outcome but tried to look on the bright side after the game.
"We were in the game right until the whistle. In fact, until the very last moment I thought we could get a point but they were very well organised at the back.
"However, I have the feeling that we played well, especially in the midfield and also at the back. We didn't give them many chances but we also lost too many balls at important moments," reflected the Dutch coach.
The defeat means that Rijkaard will also have to spend the two-week holiday period having to listen to a debate about his future. The likes of Marco van Basten and Jose Mourinho have been regularly mentioned as potential replacements for Rijkaard if Barca fail to win a trophy for the second year in succession.
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