Ruud van Nistelrooy has described Real Madrid captain Raul as a "living legend" after they both scored in yesterday's 3-1 victory over Deportivo La Coruna.

Real had to come-from-behind again to see off brave Depor and Van Nistelrooy remarked: "I cannot explain the reasons for our bad starts. When we play away from home, we're much more motivated. The first minutes of the game were very good on our part, but they scored very quickly and made it difficult for us.

"Nevertheless, in the second half we were far better. This season we have won all the games played at the Bernabeu.

"What can be said about Raul? He is a living legend at 31 years of age. He is the leader of this team and an exceptional person."