MADRID - Real Madrid bounced back from their midweek Champions League exit with a comeback win over Espanyol on Saturday, although it was hardly convincing from the stuttering champions.
Espanyol stunned Real by taking a first-half lead through Valdo, but the hosts hit back with goals from Gonzalo Higuain and captain Raul to extend their lead to eight points over second-placed Barcelona, who play on Sunday.
The win should also allow Real coach Bernd Schuster to breath a little easier, with the German coming under the spotlight following a run of five defeats in seven matches, culminating in that costly European loss against Roma.
Real were barely allowed out of their own half in the opening 10 minutes as Espanyol, whose victory over Valencia last week ended a run of six defeats in seven matches, started well.
There were just 90 seconds on the clock when Iker Casillas was called into action, with Jonathan bringing a flying save out of the Spain number one with a 25-yard effort.
Valdo then should then have done better after getting on the end of Luis Garcia's free-kick at the far post, but the Espanyol winger's header was poor and failed to trouble Casillas.
Even when Espanyol goalkeeper Carlos Kameni was given something to worry about in the 10th minute it came from a team-mate, with Marc Torrejan's back pass beating the Cameroon international and only just rolling past the far post.
Real found it impossible to break down a well marshalled Espanyol backline, but the visitors had no such trouble themselves in the 30th minute when Valdo gave them the lead.
In a similar move which resulted in Valdo's early opportunity, a short corner gave Luis Garcia the chance to fling over a deep cross from the left and the unmarked Valdo this time made no mistake with his far-post header, giving Casillas no chance.
Real looked for a quick response and they almost got it through a 25-yard free-kick from Julio Baptista.
The Brazilian hit the crossbar from a similar situation during Real's Champions League exit to Roma, and this time he forced a fingertip save from Kameni.
But just as it looked as though Bernd Schuster's side would go into the break a goal down, Gonzalo Higuain bundled home a 42nd-minute equaliser.
Marcelo skipped past Valdo with ease on the left before sending over a superb cross that Higuain managed to divert past Kameni with his knee, despite the visiting goalkeeper's best efforts to keep it out.
In spite of that goal, Real still looked devoid of ideas and cohesion at the start of the second half and Espanyol looked the more likely scorers. Milan Smiljanic went close to restoring the Catalan side's lead with a long-range shot which whistled just over before a timely intervention from Real centre-back Pepe saved Casillas' blushes after he failed to deal with a corner.
At the other end a rare Real attack resulted in Guti forcing a diving save from Kameni on the hour mark, but that did little to appease the home fans who became increasingly restless.
Espanyol continued to look the better side, but Real were gifted a chance to take the lead in the 71st minute when Raul was brought down in the area by Daniel Jarque after turning the visiting defender.
It was a soft penalty to concede, but Raul ensured the opportunity was not wasted as he sent Kameni the wrong way from the spot, earning Real an uninspiring but potentially crucial three-point haul.
