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. Continue reading