La Liga: Ramos lifts Real Madrid to clasico victory

BARCELONA, SPAIN— Defender Sergio Ramos showed once again why he is the heart of Real Madrid in leading the team to a 3-1 win at Barcelona — with a little help from the video assistant referee.

Ramos created and scored the winning goal in their first meeting of the season at an empty Camp Nou on Saturday. The clasico was yet another victory that Ramos has led in his long career at Madrid, especially since the exit of Cristiano Ronaldo two years ago.

Ramos’s importance for Madrid was seen in back-to-back losses in the run-up to the trip to their fiercest rival. Ramos was knocked out of the loss to Cadiz at halftime with a knee injury last weekend that also sidelined him for the Shakhtar defeat in the Champions League midweek. Without him, the team was listless and outhustled.

With him back barking orders in the centre of its defence, Madrid was the aggressive, compact side that won La Liga from Barcelona last season.

Ramos likewise proved key in the opposing area when he used his wiles to grapple with Clement Lenglet to gain position for a high ball. With Lenglet tugging his shirt, Ramos fell to the turf and complained vehemently. After consulting the video screen on the touchline, referee Juan Martínez ruled Lenglet impeded Ramos from contesting the ball.

That sent Ramos to the penalty spot where he drove a low shot past Neto to restore Madrid’s lead for good in the 63rd minute.

“Both Lenglet and I take our defending to the limit, and in this case it was very clear,” Ramos said. “He grabbed me as I was jumping. The VAR is there to help and I think it was a penalty. We then went looking for a third goal after they had suffered that blow to their morale instead of just sitting back.”

Madrid leads the league with 13 points. Barcelona has seven points with a game in hand.