Real Madrid sink Barça in ’Clasico’ with help of Ramos penalty

Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos celebrates scoring the club's second goal during La Liga match against Barcelona held at Camp Nou stadium, Madrid on Saturday - Reuters 

BARCELONA (Reuters): Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos once again proved to be the man for the big occasion as he converted a fiercely debated penalty to help his side to a 3-1 win over rivals Barcelona at an empty Camp Nou in La Liga on Saturday.

Ramos, making a record 45th appearance in the ‘Clasico’ fixture, was awarded the spot-kick following a VAR review, after falling in the area when his shirt was tugged by Barça’s Clement Lenglet as the pair contested a corner.

The defender showed his customary calm to score from the spot in the 63rd minute and restore the champions’ lead, after Federico Valverde had opened the scoring in the fifth minute only for Barça’s 17-year-old forward Ansu Fati to equalise less than three minutes later.

Barça ran out of steam in the second half and Madrid missed two big chances to seal the points after Ramos’ penalty before substitute Luka Modric finally put the result beyond doubt with a goal in added time.

The victory took La Liga champions Madrid back to the top of the standings on 13 points from six games, while Barça, who have only taken one point from their last three league outings, are all the way down in 10th on seven points from five games.

The win is a huge boost for Zinedine Zidane’s side, who went into the match reeling from back-to-back home defeats to promoted Cadiz and a depleted Shakhtar Donetsk.