Sergio Ramos admitted his famous ‘Panenka’ penalties may be numbered despite scoring another in Real Madrid‘s 4-2 win over Girona in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarter-final.
Ramos chipped another spot-kick straight down the middle towards the end of the first half before grabbing a more conventional second goal as his side seized control of the tie.
But Ramos acknowledged that his popular tactic – a tribute to Czech Antonin Panenka who first used it in the 1976 European Championship final – might soon need a re-think.
He told Real Madrid’s official Twitter feed: “It’s how I like to play and hopefully they will keep going in but I can’t take it for granted.
“Keepers are staying on their feet for longer so maybe I’ll have to put it to the side next time.”
Ramos expressed satisfaction with his side’s performance which followed their weekend win over Sevilla, but knows they were once again far from perfect after going behind to Antony Lozano’s seventh minute strike.
Ramos added: “Of course, although it is a good result this evening we would have liked not to have conceded any goals.
“But at this stage of the competition there are no easy opponents. They created a couple of chances and scored two goals. It is still open and we have to finish the job in Girona.”
Real’s second straight win was underpinned by another impressive performance from full-back Alvaro Odriozola, who set up Lucas Vazquez’s early equaliser and proved a threat throughout.
Odriozola told his club’s official website that he believes the team spirit remains intact despite a problematic current campaign for Santiago Solari’s side.
He said: “The work of the team has always been there, we have always given one hundred per cent and that is the secret of football.
“The quality of the players is unquestionable and with desire we are capable of everything.
“On a personal level, I am increasingly confident and more integrated into the group. With time you begin to better understand the players and with this kind of quality it is easy.”