But the Spanish giants could not find a way though a well-marshalled Liverpool backline and barely even had a chance of note as the visiting 2005 Champions League winners claimed a 1-0 victory thanks to Yossi Benayoun`s late headed goal.
Ramos said: "Liverpool have to be credited for their defensive work. Our intention was to score a goal at home and record a good advantage to go into the second leg, and they haven't given us any space. Liverpool were very well organised in defence.
"There were hardly any chances and at the end it has been a set-piece that they took advantage of that separates the teams."
The ex-Tottenham boss admits Liverpool's tactics came as no surprise to him. "I think that Liverpool played how we expected," he added. "They've tried to keep a clean sheet and it's us who had to take risks. We've tried to create chances, but they've defended well. We brought on Guti to try and open them up. The game was developing how we thought but we couldn't find the breakthrough."
