Real Madrid must learn from mistakes against Deportivo, says Sergio Ramos
Sunday 11 December 2016 07:57, UK
Sergio Ramos says there is "much to reflect on and improve" after his dramatic injury-time winner gave Real Madrid a 3-2 win over Deportivo on Saturday.
The victory extended the unbeaten run of Zinedine Zidane's men to 35 matches, eclipsing the club landmark set by Leo Beenhakker's side from the 1988/89 season.
It could, though, have been so different but for Real's late rally as Ramos netted a crucial goal with just moments remaining once again.
"It was not a great game. We have made mistakes which have penalised us with goals against us, but we have been able to react and we have gone on to win the game despite being short of time," said Ramos, quoted on the club's official website.
"There is much to reflect on and improve, we should have had a clearer game against Deportivo, although they played a great game.
"However, if you fight to the very end with hope, trust and enthusiasm then this kind of thing can happen."
Zidane made eight changes for the La Liga leaders with an eye on the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, leaving out the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema.
Alvaro Morata had fired the hosts into the lead after 50 minutes with a fine finish. However, a quickfire double from former Real Madrid Castilla forward Joselu in the space of two minutes then turned the match around.
Substitute Diaz Mariano equalised with six minutes left before Ramos sent the Bernabeu into raptures when he powered in a header from a corner to secure a piece of history.
Ramos added: "In the end, the team has achieved the goal which was to take all three points in the last league match of the year. Now, we will go and enjoy the Club World Cup."
Zidane, meanwhile, paid tribute to his players' spirit after they battled back to maintain their six-point lead at the top over Barcelona, who won at Osasuna earlier in the day.
"We played a brilliant game and I'm so happy for the players," he said. "We suffered a lot but they believed until the end. We made a few errors but that can always happen. We believed and we did it.
"The players work hard and give so much and they are always convinced things will go their way in the end. When you are behind it's not easy but we kept calm until the end and the substitutes contributed a lot too.
"We don't think we're invincible and we'll lose at some point. But the players know that thinking positively can help us. These 35 games give us the strength to keep looking forward."
