Real Madrid claimed an important first leg victory over Ajax in their Champions League, much to the delight of captain Sergio Ramos who also admitted forcing a yellow card late in the game.
Karim Benzema gave the European and world champions the lead but it took a late winner from Marco Asensio to seal the win for Los Blancos, who return to Madrid with two away goals and a lead.
Upon receiving the caution, Ramos is now out of the second leg, but it also clears his disciplinary record for the rest of the competiton.
“Looking at the result, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t force it,” Ramos said in the mixed zone. “It’s something I was thinking about.”
“Ajax grow at home and they raised their performance.
“They pressed us very high and didn’t let us receive the ball so we looked for longer passes.
“Now it’s up to them to suffer in front of our fans.”
Real Madrid‘s season has been turned around in recent weeks and as well as being well-placed in the Champions League, they have also managed to fight their way back into a LaLiga Santander title race.
“We have been effective, above all,” Ramos added. “Football is not always a beautiful game and we have to know how to interpret matches.
“We have to create space and then take advantage with the punch that we have.”
Ajax made life difficult for Madrid but it didn’t come as a surprise to the defender.
“A tough game against a lot of young people and we knew it would be complicated,” he admitted.
“We know how to suffer. It wasn’t our best game but we are united and took advantage.”
