Ramos hopeful of overcoming deficit

Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos is hopeful his team can respond in the second leg of the Spanish Supercopa after their 3-2 first-leg defeat.

Real go into next week’s match at the Santiago Bernabeu behind their Clasico rivals, but Angel Di Maria’s late goal, aided by a mistake from Victor Valdes, leaves the trophy up for grabs.

“We went into the first leg not wanting to lose, we were disappointed with the first goal as it was always going to be difficult if they scored,” Ramos said.

“I’m optimistic that in the second game we can remain calm and win.”

Pepe, who missed the first leg, is expected to miss Real’s Liga game against Getafe at the weekend, with Raul Albiol again expected to deputise.

Ramos spoke about the Portuguese defender’s importance to the side, before declaring that Albiol is more than capable of replacing him.

“No-one doubts the importance of Pepe to the team, but we have great depth and Albiol is a great asset who can perform perfectly as a starter,” he said.