COPA DEL REY | REAL MADRID 4-2 GIRONA
Sergio Ramos: "Panenka penalties are a way of expressing my individuality"
Sergio Ramos discussed the Panenka penalty he scored in Real Madrid's 4-2 Copa del Rey quarter-final first-leg win over Girona at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos explained the Panenka penalty is "a way of expressing my individuality" after his successful spot-kick against Girona. Ramos scored twice, including a coolly converted penalty, in Madrid's 4-2 Copa del Rey quarter-final first-leg victory over Girona on Thursday. The Spain international put Madrid 2-1 up approaching half-time when he beat Gorka Iraizoz with a Panenka-style effort from the spot, before netting his second and the club's third in the 77th minute.
Ramos, seven from seven from the spot
Speaking afterwards, Ramos, who has scored all seven penalties he has taken in all competitions this season, told reporters: "Taking a penalty in this manner is a way of expressing my individuality and the good moment I'm living through. I'm in a very comfortable personal moment right now. These penalties keep coming, but I can't get used to taking them in this way, I'll have to put it to one side."
A step closer to the semis
Lucas Vázquez and Karim Benzema were also on target at the Santiago Bernabéu, where Madrid earned a two-goal advantage heading into the return leg on 31 January. "The tie is still very much open," Ramos continued. "We picked up a good result and we would have liked to keep a clean sheet but that just shows there's no easy teams in this competition. We already saw it from Girona against Atletico [Madrid], but we've taken a big step in the right direction and now we have to go there and finish the job. They hurt us with their two up front who have got so much pace but we controlled it better in the second half and we were fortunate in front of goal. I hope we can continue this positive run of results."