Sergio Ramos puts in a man of the match performance, scoring a penalty and marshalling the defence as Zinedine Zidane’s men handed Ronald Koeman his first defeat in the El Classico.
Despite a run of back-to-back defeats to newly promoted Cadiz last weekend in the league and a 3-2 loss at the hands of a depleted Shakhtar Donetsk squad in the Champions League, Real Madrid rose to the occasion to thrash Barcelona 3-1 at the Camp Nou.
The win laid down a marker in the La Liga title race and Madrid would look to build momentum from there.
Fede Valverde struck in the fifth minute to hand Real the dream start before Ansu Fati equalised just three minutes later from close range.
However, it was the captain, Sergio Ramos, who made the squad after being out due to injury that would put Madrid ahead as he converted a 63rd-minute penalty that he won after VAR intervened.
Luka Modric then put the icing on the cake as he rounded off a deserved victory in the final seconds of normal time with the calmest of finishes.
In an entertaining game, Thibaut Courtois was alert to deny Lionel Messi before half-time but Barca remain in 12th position and are six points behind Real with a game in hand.
Watch the match highlights….
Barcelona’ boss, Ronald Koeman, was livid with the referee’s decision to award Real Madrid a penalty in the second half.
He says: “I don’t understand the referee’s decision regarding the penalty. VAR has never been in our favour. All the decisions are against us. Messi deserved a penalty against Sevilla, red cards weren’t given against Getafe, things today too…The decisions always against us.
“There was a push from Ramos on Lenglet. The penalty was incorrect. Yes, there was a pull from Lenglet, but not enough for Ramos to fall.”
He also adds: “I thought we played well. We created good opportunities to score. For some parts of the game, we were the better team and it’s difficult to understand because we did not deserve to lose the game.”
Zinedine Zidane, the Real Madrid boss, meanwhile, was pleased that his side silenced the critics after a difficult week for his team.
“We had a good game. I’m happy for the players, after all that was said about my players in the last few days. The team was very united. We can enjoy what we did today,” he says.
“I don’t know if what was said in the past few days was fair, but what I can say is that I’m very proud of my team. It may only be three points, but we must enjoy this considering all the comments that were made about the squad in the past few days.
“It’s not about proving people wrong, it’s about working hard and believing in what we’re doing and being together. That’s what we did. We were strong in defence and midfield when defending. It’s all about having a good game and that’s what we did.”
Both sides will look on to the UEFA Champions League next, with Barcelona travelling to Juventus on Wednesday and Real Madrid facing a trip to Borussia Monchengladbach 24 hours earlier.
In the Spanish La Liga however, it’s a trip to Alaves for Barca next Saturday evening, while Real host Huesca earlier on in the day.
Other Saturday results
- Barcelona 1-3 Real Madrid
- Osasuna 1-0 Athletic Bilbao
- Sevilla 0-1 Eibar
- Atletico Madrid 2-0 Real Betis
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