Raul double gives Ramos winning start at Real Madrid

Juande Ramos made a winning start as Real Madrid coach with a 3-0 victory over Zenit St Petersburg in Champions League Group H on Wednesday.

The former Tottenham Hotspur and Sevilla boss, who replaced Bernd Schuster on Tuesday, saw his side take the lead through Raul midway through first half following an error from visiting goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev.

Arjen Robben doubled the advantage just after the re-start and set up Raul for his second soon after. Although Zenit twice hit the woodwork late on, they rarely threatened the home goal. Real had already qualified for the knockout phase and go through as group runners-up behind Juventus.

After a poor run of form, a victory with a clean sheet will give Real a much needed lift ahead of Saturday’s trip to face arch-rivals Barcelona in the Primera Liga.