Ramos: Benitez can speak to me about penalty

Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos says head coach Rafael Benitez will have to speak with him over the penalty conceded in the 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid.

Ramos gave away the spot-kick which Keylor Navas saved from Antoine Griezmann to preserve Madrid’s first-half lead before Luciano Vietto salvaged a point for the home side.

Benitez admitted after the match he was left “angry” by the centre-back’s loss of possession which prompted the foul on Tiago but Ramos has invited his coach to explain both his reaction and his decision to substitute Karim Benzema before the equaliser.

“It was a childish mistake, but I won’t lose any sleep over it. Anything that Benitez has to say he can say when he sees me,” Ramos said as he returned from the Spain squad due to an injury concern. 

“I’m not bothered. We all make mistakes and we don’t do it on purpose. Luckily Keylor was on hand and it didn’t affect the final result. Just as people talk about my mistake, they’ll talk about the substitutions [Benitez made].

“We did things really well, but the team played far too deep towards the end of the game. The Vicente Calderon is a tough ground to play at and you just end up focusing on finishing the game, holding on and not looking for a goal.”

Ramos did, however, praise Benitez’s coaching ability when asked whether he agreed with the former Liverpool boss’s suggestion that only Cristiano Ronaldo is undroppable from the side.

“We all have our own opinion. No player is irreplaceable in football, although I’m not going to give you any headlines against my coach. He’s an amazing manager,” Ramos added.