Ramos rises to the rescue as Zidane’s men snatch a point
SERGIO RAMOS does it again. With Barcelona seconds from a hard-fought Clasico win, he rose to head in a Luka Modric free-kick on 90 minutes.
It was no more than Real Madrid deserved and it means they stay six points clear at the top with an unbeaten run that now stretches 33 games.
If it was typical Ramos to get a late leveller, it had been classic Luis Suarez on 52 minutes when he put Barcelona ahead. Like a bumper car in the six-yard box, he first bounced off of Lucas Vazquez and then off Raphael Varane before heading Neymar’s free-kick past Keylor Navas to score.
The goal was well-timed because Andres Iniesta came on at the hour mark having been spared the full 90 minutes by Luis Enrique keen to protect him after his six-week spell out injured with damaged knee ligaments.
Even Sergio Busquets — who was outstanding throughout — seemed buoyed by the change, pirouetting away from Isco, and Zinedine Zidane responded by putting on Casemiro for the Spaniard.
For the first time in the game, Madrid needed to get the ball off of Barca.
Now it was Barcelona’s turn to miss their chances. Neymar should have scored the second when he went past Dani Carvajal in the area after being played in by Lionel Messi only to blaze over. He was then put through by Messi again and his time Ramos blocked.
They paid for the failure to put the game to bed when Arda Turan tripped Marcelo and, from Modric’s free-kick, Ramos did what he does best.
Real Madrid had the better of the first half, with Cristiano Ronaldo missing several chances to break the deadlock.
He trotted out before the game — a diamond stud in each ear — not looking too worried about the stories that had broken in the previous 24 hours regarding a tax investigation opened in Spain last December.
Madrid were lively all over the pitch and Vazquez wanted a penalty when challenged by Javier Mascherano in the area. The defender got a touch on the ball just before the two collided.
Barca boss Luis Enrique was furious with a Modric challenge on Messi that was not dissimilar to a foul on Iniesta earlier in the season that ruled him out for six weeks.
The Clasico was not proving to be much of a classic and Barca’s best chance came route one when a long ball over the top to Neymar was crossed by the Brazilian to Suarez whose shot was blocked.
We had seen little of La Liga top scorer Ronaldo but he raced down the left nine minutes before the break and tested Marc Andre ter Stegen with a shot at his near post.
He then he twinkled-toed through the centre of Barcelona’s defence side-stepping Gerard Pique and nutmegging Mascherano but again couldn’t beat Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.
Ronaldo was then serenaded by Barcelona supporters with ‘come out of the closet’ for which the club will be fined. La Liga is very keen to clamp down on homophobia at football grounds of late and will take action.
They look to have paid for not making the most of the first half chances when Suarez headed in only his second goal in the last six games.
But Ramos got the last touch that keeps Real Madrid unbeaten and six points clear.
However, Zidane played down the significance of Real’s late equaliser.
‘It is just one point, it does not taste like a victory,’ he said.
‘It is a good point, and we keep picking them up. I don’t believe this is a blow for Barca’s morale. We have a six-point lead, but it does not change anything. We must keep working, this is a very long season.’