Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos: "The only thing I think about are the three points"
Real Madrid were again grateful to Sergio Ramos for another decisive penalty - his second in four days - this time, against Athletic Club in Bilbao.
Sergio Ramos admitted that he enjoys the responsibility of taking decisive penalties for Real Madrid, as long as the team benefits. For the second time in four days, Ramos grabbed the only goal from 12 yards for Madrid, this time to secure a 1-0 win at Athletic Club at San Mamés on Sunday. A seventh straight victory moved the LaLiga leaders seven points clear, ahead of Barcelona's meeting with Villarreal later this evening.
Two match-deciding penalties in four days for Sergio Ramos
Ramos, who has now scored 31 out of 35 penalties for club and country, is the team's top scorer since competition resumed with five goals - including his spot-kick which got Madrid out of a fix against Getafe on Thursday.
"All I think about is the three points," he said. "It's during those moments of maximum tension and uncertainty [taking penalties], when I feel most comfortable so I think I'm the ideal person to take on board the responsibility. What matters most is the overall result. I'm delighted to take penalties and I'll continue to do so many times more with pleasure. The only thing that matters is that it helps the team win."
Football is a team sport
As for his personal achievements, Ramos added: "The individual recognition is second for me. What matters is that the team get the objectives we want and manage to get the three points in every game we play. Luckily, for the moment, we are getting those results. I would have probably played tennis if I were more interested in individual recognition. This is a very beautiful sport, a team sport, and it's very nice to win as a team."
Alavés at home next
Having also overcome Getafe this week and with relatively kinder fixtures to come than today's trip to Bilbao, Ramos acknowledged the magnitude of Madrid's latest win. "It was very important for us. We knew today was going to be one of the most important games of those that are left for us," he said. "It's a very difficult game always, travelling away to Bilbao. We just organised it like that: we had 11 finals left coming back from lockdown and we just had to go game by game, getting the three points. I believe today, again, the team proved that against a team like this, you always have to be at it. We're very happy with the three points. That was our objective. It's three very important points to put more pressure on Barcelona, who play later today. We just want that league title. From the first minute, you could see how we wanted to go for that game and get the result today. We knew we weren't going to win 3-0 or 4-0 today – it was going to be a very tough game – but it was important."