But the criticism hurts less when you are (joint) top of the league, which is where Real will enter the second half of the season after Sunday's 1-0 win at Mallorca, courtesy of Jose Antonio Reyes' brilliant free-kick which rescued an unconvincing showing.

A run of poor performances had led neutral observers and club insiders alike to conclude the nine-times European champions need radical surgery.

Painful for the veterans as it is, that process is already under way under disciplinarian coach Fabio Capello.

Never a respecter of reputations, Capello has discarded fading stars David Beckham and Ronaldo.

Real's constant craving for offloading and buying players by the half dozen is a recipe which hasn't worked since Beckham arrived in July 2003 as the final 'galactic' piece in the jigsaw.

In the four intervening years Real have proved that money cannot buy success, although Chelsea might disagree, given the English champions' current need for a new centre half or two.

Ever since Beckham's injection into a team that had just won its 29th league title, the cash-rich Spaniards have consistently proved to be worth less than the sum of their parts, left floundering by a resurgent Barcelona at home and looking distinctly ordinary in Europe.

But all the talk of crisis may prove uncalled for after Reyes' goal made it a three-way tie at the top between Capello's men, Barcelona and Sevilla.

The Catalans have a game in hand but have been inconsistent in recent weeks and did not sparkle Sunday in seeing off tailenders Gimnastic Tarragona, while Seville have taken just one point in three matches as their Andalusian fire has started to fade.

If Seville had caught a cold in those three outings Real had looked positively ill before Christmas after a disastrous 3-0 home pounding by Recreativo Huelva and follow-up 2-0 reverse at Deportivo La Coruna.

But if the league table doesn't lie, the title is up for grabs.

"We deserved our win and physically we are in good shape physically and psychologically," Capello insisted after beating a Mallorca side which a week earlier had won in Seville.

In a pointed remark after previous criticism of the squad by himself and chairman Ramon Calderon, Capello added: "I liked the players' attitude."

Capello's new broom approach -- out with the big names, in with youngsters such as Miguel Torres, who, as in the previous single-goal win over Zaragoza, excelled at the back in the absence of Roberto Carlos -- seems to be working with Reyes and newcomer Gonzalo Higuain pulling the strings.

As AS sports daily put it: "Reyes blew away the cobwebs."

However, Marca sports newspaper sounded a little incredulous after a weekend which saw an all-time Spanish Liga low of 0.9 goals per game.

"Dreadful play, they hardly score any goals, the chairman talks a lot, not one galactico...

"But there they are, Madrid. Reyes' goal beats Mallorca and leaves the all-whites joint league leaders."

The last time that was the case at the half way stage, five years ago, Real blew the title but won the Champions League, whereas a year later they made up a five-point deficit on Real Sociedad to win their last silverware.