Published 11:44 IST, March 17th 2021
Sergio Ramos has scored more Champions League goals than Ronaldo, David Villa and Zidane
Real Madrid skipper Sergio Ramos scored his 15th Champions League goal against Atalanta to overtake Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo Nazario and David Villa.
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Spanish champions Real Madrid continued their exceptional run of form when they hammered Atalanta at Alfredo di Stefano. The game saw Zinedine Zidane’s men score thrice, with Sergio Ramos also among the scorers. The Los Blancos skipper scored from the spot to overtake some of the footballing greats such as Ronaldo Nazario, David Villa and Zinedine Zidane in the Champions League goalscoring tally.
Real Madrid vs Atalanta highlights: Karim Benzema breaks deadlock
Los Blancos arrived into the game with a one-goal lead following Ferland Mendy’s winner in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16. Following the narrow win, Real Madrid were determined to put out a statement of intent at home and they went on to win the tie 3-1.
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Striker Karim Benzema bagged the lead in the 35th minute following a goalkeeping debacle from Marco Sportiello. The shots-stopper sent the ball mistakenly at Luka Modric who raced towards the goal before directing the ball at Benzema. The Frenchman scored from a simple finish to break the deadlock. With the goal, he has equalled up the record of scoring in 17 successive calendar years, alongside Lionel Messi and Raul Gonzalez.
Sergio Ramos goals in Champions League: Skipper overtakes Zidane, Ronaldo
Vinicius Jr was one of the standout performers of the night. The Brazilian youngster threatened the Atalanta defence with his pacy skills, resulting in a penalty kick in the second half. And the Sergio Ramos goals in Champions League count went to 15 with that success.
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With the goal, the 34-year-old centre-back has now scored as many as 101 goals across competitions as well, as part of the Sergio Ramos stats. But notably, he has now scored more goals in the European club competition than club manager Zidane. The French legend had scored 14 times in the Champions League.
Notably, Barcelona legend David Villa and former Real Madrid superstar Ronaldo Nazario had also scored 14 times in the top European competition during their respective careers, with the Spain international now overtaking these legends in the history books, making it a highlight of the Sergio Ramos stats.
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Real Madrid vs Atalanta highlights: Super-sub Asensio rounds up impeccable win
Meanwhile, Atalanta star Luis Muriel scored a goal back after Toni Kroos conceded a foul in a dangerous spot near the edge of the penalty box. And Muriel struck a sensational set-piece, with Thibaut Courtois unable to stop the kick despite getting his hand on it. Marco Asensio, however, was quick to add a third goal for the Spanish heavyweights with his first touch of the game after being introduced as a substitute. Real Madrid went on to progress in the quarter-final of the competition with a 4-1 aggregate scoreline.
Amid the thrilling form, there's no clarity on the Sergio Ramos contract talks at Bernabeu. The Sergio Ramos contract will end after the current season. Speaking to Movistar after the game, the Real Madrid captain has confirmed that there has been no headway in contract extension talks with the club.
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Image courtesy: Real Madrid Twitter
11:44 IST, March 17th 2021