Sergio Ramos burst through midfield, went on the attack and arrived at the edge of the box like a voracious centre forward.
Eden Hazard must have wondered what on earth his captain was doing there, but he did the simple and right thing and laid off the ball, so that the number four could score the simplest of goals.
It was the goal of a battering ram, no airs and graces, and it took Ramos’ LaLiga Santander tally to 67 – two with Sevilla and 65 with Real Madrid.
The Los Blancos captain now shares the record with Ronald Koeman after his goal against Eibar, as being the highest scoring defender in the history of the Spanish top flight.
Technically Fernando Hierro could stake a claim to the title, having notched 105 goals, but he spent a lot of time playing in midfield with 44 of those coming under the Serbian coach Radomir Antic.
Hierro’s best season came in 1991/92 when he scored 21 goals, and overall hit the back of the net with 21 penalties in LaLiga, from 25 attempts.
Koeman was a regular penalty taker himself and scored 68.65 percent of his goals from 12 yards. The Dutchman was only stopped six times from the penalty spot, from 52 attempts and in 1991/92 he was at his most prolific with 16 goals, 11 penalties.
Ramos impressively has largely hit the back of the net during open play, with only 16.4 percent of his own tally coming from penalties. And just one being missed, which came against former team Sevilla.
A top notch goalscorer
That success from the penalty spot has made Ramos a leading scorer for Real Madrid, despite the fact that he often lets striker Karim Benzema step up from 12 yards.
The defender has even scored penalties under immense pressure, such as against Real Betis on March 8.
Ramos is Real Madrid’s second highest goalscorer this season, having bagged eight domestically and two in the Champions League against Club Brugge and Galatasaray, respectively.
With 10 games remaining Ramos is just one goal away from beating his scoring record in a LaLiga Santander campaign, and he could very well do so.
Real Madrid’s next game is against Valencia, against whom he has scored four goals in 25 LaLiga Santander games, his second most prolific return against any club apart from Malaga, where he has found the back of the net five times in total.
source:- allfootballapp
Share your thoughts