In times of dire situations, Madrid faithfuls turn their hopes to Sergio Ramos. The charismatic Spaniard is regarded as an icon, and he continues to stamp his legacy in the history of the club.
The Spaniard played a key role for Madrid at both ends of the pitch in their title run-in last season and proved decisive again on Saturday, crucially converting from the penalty spot to put his side back in front in a massive 3-1 victory over Barcelona at Camp Nou.
Los Blancos came into the Clasico game on the brink of a full-blown crisis after dismal defeats to Liga minnows Cadiz and a coronavirus-ravaged Shakhtar Donetsk, with Spanish media outlets even suggesting Zinedine Zidane could lose his job if his side lost in Catalunya.
Ramos went missing in action in the Champions League loss to Shakhtar through injury during the week and was forced to watch on helplessly from the stands as his team’s defence was breached three times in 13 first-half minutes – as many goals as they had conceded during the final nine games of the 2019-20 Liga season.
Nobody was, thus, in the least bit surprised that he was willing to play through the pain against Barca, shrugging off last weekend’s blow to his knee to start in the Clasico.
“He will be with us, he is our leader,” Zidane enthused ahead of the game. And the Frenchman was grateful for it. His Madrid had never before lost three games in a row, or been beaten at Camp Nou, and Ramos ensured that it stayed that way.
Fede Valverde broke the deadlock after five minutes and as good as his finish was, with the ball driven into the top corner beyond the helpless Neto, it was a shockingly straightforward goal in terms of the build-up.
Sergio Busquets was to blame, completely failing to track Valverde’s run into the box, thus allowing the Uruguayan to reach Karim Benzema’s pass, which had split Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet.
Pique quite rightly turned to remonstrate with Busquets after the goal, with Valverde’s incessant drive and energy badly exposing the latter’s increasing immobility.
Barcelona’s brightest hope pulled them level, with Ansu Fati in the right place at the right time to clinically dispatch Jordi Alba’s cut-back. In doing so, the young Spanish forward, who turns 18 a week from now, became the second-youngest goalscorer in Clasico history.
After a fast and furious opening, the game settled a little after the hosts’ equaliser, as the eldest and wisest heads began to exert some control over the pace of the play.
Ramos is a master of the dark arts, of course, and he did well to quell Barca’s momentum. At one point, he cleverly used his backside to upend Sergino Dest as the full-back raced into the box – and the Madrid skipper got away with it too.
Dest, though, continued to prove a fine attacking outlet for the hosts. The first American to ever appear in a Clasico was one of the few Barca players to pull their weight, though it was still a surprise that it was left to the new signing, who doesn’t speak any Spanish, to conduct the flash interview on the side of the pitch after the game.
Busquets, Pique and Lionel Messi were nowhere to be seen after a defeat that will really sting. Indeed, that Ramos was the game’s principal protagonist will no doubt hurt Barca fans, given how often he has tormented them in the past.
The centre-half combined with the likes of Casemiro to ensure that the likes of Pedri and Philippe Coutinho had little impact on the proceedings.
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