BEVERLY HILLS, October 24, (THEWILL) – In the latest instalment of the thrilling El Clasico, imperial Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos returned to win and score a game-turning penalty in the 3-1 victory of Los Blancos at Camp Nou on Saturday.
The Madrid captain was substituted in last week’s home defeat to Cadiz and was a no-show at their subsequent shock defeat at home against Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) as crisis loomed overhead in the run-up to their first La Liga meeting with Barca this season.
The opening chance of the gripping clash brought the breakthrough as Real’s French forward Karim Benzema played a through pass for Federico Valverde, their Uruguayan central midfielder, to advance and lift a cool fifth-minute finish into the top-left corner over Neto, Brazilian Barca goalie.
Two minutes after, left winger Vinicius Junior fired wide as Madrid sought a swift second. Rather, they were quickly pegged back three minutes after going ahead when the every overlapping Jordi Alba raced in behind Nacho and squared for youngster Ansu Fati to tap in.
Working hard to keep the fixture even, Thibaut Courtois and Neto denied Lionel Messi and Benzema respectively at either end as an even, entertaining first half finished all square.
Then, Barca started the stronger of both sides in the second period.
Fati shot across the face of goal in the 52nd minute and then Philippe Coutinho aimed a header wastefully wide from the goalscorer’s pinpoint cross in the 54th.
Then, the plot was lost by an act of foolishness and a dramatic fall. Barca’s French centre back Lenglet’s foolish, off-balance tug on Ramos in the box encouraged an extravagant fall, alerting the VAR to the foul. The ref gave it and the visiting skipper slid his spot-kick beyond Neto.
The embattled Neto made a smart double-stop from Toni Kroos and somehow blocked Ramos’ volley as well. Yet, even his valiant efforts to keep Barca in the game came undone when he spilled the ball at the feet of Rodrygo, who squared for fellow substitute Croatian midfielder Luka Modric to calmly prod into the net.
Madrid emerged from this tie stronger than they went in and are now in pole position to win a second straight La Liga title. They claim victory in the first Clasico of the season at Barcelona for the first time since December 2007.
In Camp Nou, the misery that set in at the end of last season still hangs around the side. They had the lion’s share of possession in the second half on Saturday but could not muster a single shot on target, almost similar to the loss away to Getafe.
The Blaugrana were on top when Lenglet’s misstep handed Madrid complete control but that is not excuse enough for the quality of the side. Things do not get any easier for Barca as they are away to Juventus on Wednesday in the UCL.
Madrid will aim to get their own Champions League campaign up and running a day earlier in Germany against Borussia Monchengladbach.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
