Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has admitted that Sergio Ramos was hurt by the insults he received from the Sevilla fans
The Copa del Rey is known for its unpredictability and it provided yet another riveting Round of 16 encounter between two Spanish heavyweights in Real Madrid and Sevilla. The former went into the second leg with a three-goal cushion expecting to win easy, but were made to fight hard for the victory.
Sevilla opened the scoring in this one as Real right-back Danilo catastrophically hit the ball into his own net to give the opposition the initiative. The hosts kept pushing to double their advantage, but it was the visitors who scored the next goal – courtesy of a Marco Asensio strike, three minutes into the second half.
Stevan Jovetic and Iborra scored two vital goals in the second half that gave Sevilla a 3-1 lead. Real Madrid, who went into this game with a 39-game unbeaten run, were in danger of letting it slip away.
However, defender Sergio Ramos and striker Karim Benzema rose to the occasion and scored two goals in the dying stages to salvage a draw and ensure that Los Blancos broke the Spanish record to remain unbeaten for 40 games in a row in all competitions.
Ramos, who scored against his former club, was on the receiving end of abusive jeers from the Sevilla. He was promoted through the ranks at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan before he moved to Real Madrid in 2005, playing just one season for Los Nervionenses.
The Spanish defender scored a ‘Panenka’ penalty and rushed to a section of the Sevilla ultras to celebrate his goal. He then cupped his hands to his ears and offered apologies to the fans in attendance.
However, the Sevilla faithful did not welcome this gesture and threw a bottle at their former player before shouting out abuses at him. The defender was undoubtedly stunned by the hostile reception, and manager Zinedine Zidane spoke about his feelings after the game.
Speaking in the post-match press conference, the Frenchman admitted that Ramos was deeply hurt by the Sevilla fans and said that the player wasn’t wrong to celebrated. Zidane stated:
“I’m not happy with the insults aimed at [Sergio] Ramos,” Zidane said in his post-match comments.
“Obviously it hurts him to hear these insults given that he used to play here, he is from here and he has always said nice things about Sevilla.
“I don’t have anything to say to him about his goal celebration. He’s done nothing wrong.”
The two sides face off once again in La Liga on Sunday. Sevilla sit in second place with 36 points and could close the gap down to a single point with Real Madrid if they manage to topple the league leaders at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
