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Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has taken a dig at club manager Rafa Benitez’s tactics after he singled out his defender for the poor 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid in Sunday’s Madrid derby, according to Marca. Although Ramos gave away a penalty against their rivals, he has admitted he is not bothered about the manager’s dissatisfaction.
Benitez and his players have come under scrutiny in his homeland after pundits and fans expressed their disappointment, criticizing their conservative approach and Los Blancos’ inability to kill off the game against Deigo Simeone’s side during the first-half. The Galacticos ended the game with a draw, failing to capitalise on Barcelona’s defeat to Sevilla on Saturday and widen the gap between the two clubs.
The Real Madrid manager was left unimpressed when Ramos almost gave their rivals the opportunity to take the lead. But he has admitted it was a childish mistake when he brought down Atletico’s Tiago Mendes in the penalty box. Luckily for Ramos, Antoine Griezmann’s subsequent spot kick was saved by goalkeeper Keylor Navas.
“We were ahead and we have made mistakes, with the penalty and the goal,” Ramos said in the interview after the game. “It was a childish mistake, but I won't lose any sleep over it.”
“Anything that Benitez has to say he can say when he sees me. I'm not concerned or bothered. We all make mistakes and we don't do it on purpose.
The Spain international further added: “Luckily Keylor was on hand and it didn't affect the final result. Just as people talk about my mistake, they'll talk about the substitutions.”
"We did things really well, but the team played far too deep towards the end of the game. The Vicente Calderon is a tough ground to play at and you just end up focusing on finishing the game, holding on and not looking for a goal,” he concluded.
Ramos ruled out for Spain’s Euro qualifiers
The Spanish international is set to miss the Euro qualifiers this weekend due to an ongoing shoulder injury and he has been ruled out of the squad. Ramos’ teammate Nacho Fernandez has been reported to replace him ahead of the matches against Luxembourg and Ukraine, Marca understands.
“I need to recover. I didn't end the game well and I pushed myself to make it back in time for the derby. It was an injury which should have sidelined me for four weeks, but I made in back in just over two.
“Sometimes you have to make an effort for those big games.”
