Morientes saves Real as feeble Ronaldo trudges off as 'Fatboy'

There were sights at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium which would have shocked Manchester United's spies on Saturday, notably the piles of programmes being distributed free of charge. While Real show such a reckless disregard for maximising revenue United will consider safe their status as the world's wealthiest club.

Their presumption of being the globe's most famous is, though, challenged by a club which will be seeking to cement their immortality when the two meet in tomorrow night's European Cup quarter-final first leg.

Quite apart from the eight replica European Cups sitting in Real's trophy cabinet and also, a consequence of last May's victory at Hampden Park, the real one, Real have Ronaldo, the leading challenger to David Beckham's status as the most famous footballer on the planet. It has been suggested that next season, to settle any dispute, they will also have Beckham who appears on screens here, with several Real stars, in a wonderful Pepsi advert.

For the moment that deal seems off which may be just as well because, to judge from Saturday's match against Rayo Vallecano, Real have enough problems incorporating the World Footballer of the Year.

When Ronaldo arrived in Madrid he was garlanded, not least as another steal, albeit via Internazionale, from Barcelona. Yet the dressing-room took umbrage when the popular Fernando Morientes made way. Posing for photographs by the statue of Neptune, traditionally associated with rivals Atletico Madrid, rather than that of Cibeles, in whose plaza Real celebrate, only compounded problems. So did a burst of goals whenever he went off to play for Brazil.

With Raul adapting his game, Ronaldo eventually appeared to integrate himself into the patterns of the team and the hearts of the fans. Going into Saturday's match he was Real's top scorer in La Liga with 14 goals in 22 games. The adoration, though, is not yet permanent. The loudest cheer Ronaldo attracted on Saturday was for his withdrawal after 83 minutes of anonymity. The whistling had started after 40 minutes when, with struggling Rayo improbably hanging on to an eighth-minute lead, the Brazilian got in the way as Guti shaped to shoot. By the 67th minute, when Ronaldo horribly spooned Santiago Solari's shot over the bar, "Ronnie" was "Fatboy" again.

"You can't judge him on tonight," said Real's Steve McManaman afterwards. "It wasn't a night for centre-forwards. They scored early on and got behind the ball. If you'd been here in the last three months you'd have seen him scoring goals."

One centre-forward did enjoy the evening. When Ronaldo trudged off Morientes came on as Real went to 3-2-5 with Roberto Carlos nominally among the defenders. It was he who, from within his own half, launched an up-and-under straight out of the Wimbledon playbook to the edge of the Rayo box. Sergio Segura, who until then had lived up to his name, which means "safe" in Spanish, rushed wildly from his goal. Morientes got there first. One touch, one goal, his first of the season.

Rayo were shattered. Ten seconds from the end of normal time Javier Portillo, "Spain's Wayne Rooney", rose to head in Solari's cross. Luis Figo then slid in Morientes for a second. "This sets us up for Manchester United," said the Real coach, Vicente del Bosque.

It would not appear as encouraging a platform as United's 4-0 win over Liverpool but the contrast is not so clear-cut. On Saturday, Real were without their French central midfield pairing of Zinedine Zidane and Claude Makelele, whose shrewd and disciplined play was as badly missed as Zidane's subtle promptings. In their place Esteban Cambiasso and Flavio da Conceicão formed an Argentinian-Brazilian partnership so ineffectual that Guti, an attacking midfielder, ended the match in the anchor role.

Makelele and Zidane will both be back to meet United, as will Ivan Helguera. All three were rested rather than injured following their exertions during an international week which occupied 13 Real players.

United's win was downplayed because of Sami Hyypia's early dismissal. "I watched the game. The sending-off spoiled it," McManaman said. Certainly, when the highlights were shown on Real Madrid TV during the warm-up no one seemed concerned at this display of United's power.

Nor were they worried when Iker Casillas, distracted by Ronaldo's outstretched leg, allowed Luis Cembranos' hopeful free-kick past him to put Rayo Vallecano ahead. The game continued to a backdrop of low chatter which belied its derby status. Rayo are the other Madrid team but barely 100 "Rayito" fans had travelled across town from the working-class suburb of Vallecas.

Eventually, it dawned on everyone that Rayo might hold on and the decibel level began to rise. Real had initially played as winning the match was a chore to be put off until it was unavoidable, like washing the dishes only when there are no clean plates left. Although Figo provided a string of tempting crosses Segura was largely untroubled in the opening half. When he denied Figo and, brilliantly, Raul, early in the second, anxiety began to spread.

When Figo shot wildly over after 78 minutes the usually undemonstrative Del Bosque buried his head in his hands. The first home league defeat since November 2000 threatened. Then came Morientes to remind United's scouts, and his own club, that there is more to Real than Ronaldo.

Goals: Luis Cembranos (8) 0-1; Morientes (85) 1-1; Portillo (89) 2-1; Morientes (90) 3-1.

Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Casillas; Salgado, Hierro, Pavon (Portillo, 76), Roberto Carlos; Flavio, Cambiasso (Solari, h-t); Figo, Raul, Guti; Ronaldo (Morientes, 83). Substitutes not used: Cesar (gk), Helguera, McManaman, Celades.

Rayo Vallecano (4-2-3-1): Segura; Mario, De Quintana, Quevedo, Graff; Iriney, Azkoitia; Julio Alvarez (Mora, 83), Luis Cembranos (Camunas, 63), Michel; Peragon (Onopko, 77). Substitutes not used: Etxeberria (gk), Dorado, Bolo, Elder.

Referee: E Iturralde Gonzalez.

Booked: Real Madrid: Pavon, Solari. Rayo Vallecano: Iriney.

Man of the match: Morientes.

Attendance: 71,000.