Raphaël Varane: Real Madrid confident even without Sergio Ramos | OneFootball

On Thursday, Real Madrid centre-back Raphaël Varane had the difficult task of explaining how Real Madrid expect to come from behind and defeat Manchester City without his defensive partner Sergio Ramos.

Ramos was sent off in the 86th minute of City’s 2-1 first-leg victory when he caught Gabriel Jesus from behind on the edge of the box as the Brazilian went through on goal.

Though Madrid are considered underdogs to advance, Varane is confident his side have the quality to move on to the quarter-finals.

“I have experience in this competition, we know how tough it is to win it,” Varane said in a virtual press conference.

“We’re up against good opposition who play some nice football, are very good going forward, and we have to be offensive and attack well.

“We know these games are decided by the finest of details, so we have to be clinical in both areas, that makes the difference in these games – we have to play with high levels of intensity and concentration.

“We know we need a strong group full of leaders if we’re going to win the Champions League and that won’t change.

“We know how important Sergio is and we all have to put on a great display to qualify and keep fighting to the end. That’s no different.

“He’s a hugely important player for us but we know we’re a group, we all have a role to play. I always help my teammates out, that’s how I play, I like to provide cover for the others.

“I speak to my teammates a lot from a tactical point of view in the dressing room.

“We come into the game full of confidence after our recent results and more rested than we would have been had we played the match in March. We hope we’re ready to win it.”

Out of the last six Champions League matches that Real Madrid have played without Ramos, Los Blancos have won just once while suffering five defeats.