Sergio Ramos pulled off a stunning challenge on Lionel Messi, as Real Madrid won El Clasico on Saturday afternoon, with the Real captain also scoring from the spot.
Zinedine Zidane was in desperate need for a win in the biggest game in Spanish football, following a week where his side lost to Cadiz in La Liga and at home to Shakhtar in the Champions League.
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Ramos, playing in a record breaking 45th Clasico, was the man to make the biggest difference in the game.
Federico Valverde gave the away side the lead in the fifth minute before Ansu Fati became the youngest goalscorer in the fixture's history just three minutes later.
Ramos won a penalty in the 63rd minute, when his shirt was pulled from a corner, before stepping up to bury the spot kick.
The Real captain was once again in the spotlight late on, after Luka Modric had made it 3-1, when he pulled off the most brilliant challenge on a rampaging Messi, the second time in two weeks he's pulled off a similar challenge.
After the match, Zidane hit back at his critics over the previous week, saying, "After the criticism we received, we had to stay calm and united.
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"Play when we had to play, and play the way we did today.
"I don't know if [the criticism towards us] was fair or not.
"What I can say is that I'm proud of my team. We've done it against a team that always causes you problems.
"We had to [call on Thibaut] Courtois twice, but we also had chances to score four goals. In the end, I'm happy at getting three points here.
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"We have to enjoy it after all the comments that were made about us. We're not here to shut people up. We're here to do it our way and to believe in what we do.
"That's what we've done. I'm very proud of what we've done, defending compactly and then attacking with space."
With Ramos having come off at half time against Cadiz and missed Shakhtar all together, clearly he was all Zidane and Real needed.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Football News, Sergio Ramos, El Clasico, Barcelona, Lionel Messi, Clasico, Spanish football, Real Madrid, La Liga
