Ramos 100: Breaking down the Real Madrid captain's century of goals

 Ramos 100: Breaking down the Real Madrid captain's century of goals

He may be a defender, but Sergio Ramos racked up another incredible goalscoring feat as Real Madrid defeated Inter 3-2 in the Champions League.

Club captain Ramos scored his 100th goal for the club when he added to Karim Benzema's opener by guiding Toni Kroos' first-half corner into the bottom-right corner in the 33rd minute.

It was his eighth headed goal in the Champions League, which moved him ahead of John Terry for the most by a defender in the competition since 2003-04.

Inter fought back and Lautaro Martinez fired home after a brilliant flick from Nicolo Barella before Ivan Perisic restored parity after the hour mark, but substitute Rodrygo fired home the winner with 10 minutes remaining at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano on Tuesday.

With the help of Opta, we take a look at the numbers behind Ramos' century.

Who's he scored against?

Ramos arrived at Madrid from Sevilla in 2005 and the team he's scored against more often than any other for Los Blancos is – you guessed it – Sevilla.

He is undoubtedly a man who thrives on the big occasions, with seven of his 100 goals registered against his former club, while six have come against neighbours Atletico Madrid and five have been versus Clasico rivals Barcelona.

Carlos Kameni and Gorka Iraizoz are the goalkeepers he has beaten most frequently, each seeing the Madrid captain put five past them.

The only players to have scored more for Madrid since he joined are Cristiano Ronaldo (450), Karim Benzema (254), Gonzalo Higuain (121) and Gareth Bale (104).

How has he scored them?

More than half of Ramos' 100 goals – 55 to be exact – have been scored with his head. His dominant right foot has accounted for 37 and he has found the net with his left on seven occasions, with one goal coming via a different part of his body.

The 34-year-old is particularly influential from set-pieces. He has scored from open play just 16 times, with corners (39) and free-kicks (22) where he proves to be deadliest.

Ramos has also scored 21 penalties – 16 of them have been in LaLiga, which is more than any other defender has managed in the competition in the 21st century – and converted two direct free-kicks. It is therefore unsurprising that only three of his goals have come from outside the box.

Kroos' assist for Ramos on Tuesday was his 13th for the skipper, which is more than any other player has provided him with.

When does he score them?

With his goal against Inter, Ramos converted in the last quarter of an hour of the first half for the 18th time.

He has been most prolific in the final 15 minutes of matches, however, coming up with 23 late goals to aid Madrid's cause in crunch time.

Ramos enjoyed his best goalscoring season for Madrid in 2019-20, with his tally of 13 the third time he had reached double figures in all competitions for the club.

His 11 in LaLiga last term was a record for a defender in the competition since the turn of the millennium.

Conte 'satisfied' with Inter display and remains hopeful of Champions League progression

Antonio Conte said he is satisfied with Inter's performance in their 3-2 defeat against Real Madrid and remains hopeful of reaching the Champions League last 16.

Inter battled back from two goals down in Tuesday's clash at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, only for Madrid substitute Rodrygo to score with 10 minutes remaining to snatch the win.

Conte's Inter are bottom of Group B on two points from three matches and face Madrid again at San Siro in their next European outing on November 25.

Despite Inter winning only one of their last seven games in all competitions, Conte remains upbeat on the back of the narrow loss in the Spanish capital.

"Of course the final result leaves a bad taste in the mouth for me and my players," he told Sport Mediaset. "Games like these show that there is still room for growth.

"But I don't know how many teams come to Madrid and play this type of game. We went down by two goals and managed to pull it back, and then missed chances to go in front.

"In my opinion my side took more steps today. I really liked the mentality and desire we showed. This team is growing but the results are not rewarding our performances."

Karim Benzema profited from a terrible Achraf Hakimi backpass for Madrid's opening goal and Sergio Ramos nodded in a second after getting away from his marker at a corner.

Hakimi appeared to be fouled by Ferland Mendy in the build-up to the opener, but Conte did not want to make excuses and instead criticised his side's defending.

"There is little explanation behind the backpass, even if there was a slight foul on Hakimi," he said. "The second goal is similar - we have to improve.

"There is work to be done and at the moment the little details are costing us in games."

Lautaro Martinez – who became the only player born after 1996 to have scored against both Madrid and Barcelona in the Champions League – and Ivan Perisic dragged Inter back on level terms with well-taken strikes either side of half-time, but Rodrygo's winner now leaves Inter in a perilous position.

"There are still three games to go," Conte said. "That means nine points are up for grabs. We knew this was the most difficult group and we will do everything to get through."

Inter matched Madrid in terms of shots (12) but only managed to get three of those on target, compared to seven for their opponents – who have conceded two-plus goals in five consecutive Champions League games for just the second time after 2001.

And Samir Handanovic accepted Inter can have few complaints about the scoreline after failing to make more of the chances that fell their way at 2-2.

"There is a lot of bitterness about this result," the Inter captain told Sky Sport Italia.

"We had got it back on track and wanted to win - that was the sensation we got on the pitch.

"We had two chances and didn't take them, whereas Real Madrid did, and those incidents made the difference. Ultimately, they were more determined.

"In wins and defeats, there is always something positive to take, but we have to become more determined, because we really felt that we could've won it and that is not the first time we've experienced this situation.

"I think we were on a par with Real Madrid, even superior for long periods, but the difference was they were more determined."