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Sergio Ramos scored Real Madrid’s 3-1 winning goal in Barcelona after a video review awarded him a penalty in the Spanish league on Saturday.

Ramos regained Madrid’s lead in the 63rd from the penalty spot after a brush with Barcelona’s Clement Lenglet in the area. After consulting the video screen on the touchline, referee Juan Martínez ruled that Lenglet had prevented Ramos from contesting a high ball by grabbing his shirt.

Federico Valverde opened the scoring for Madrid in the fifth minute when he fired a pass from Karim Benzema.

Barcelona’s Ansu Fati tied three minutes after an attack signaled by Lionel Messi.

Barcelona was taking the game to the Madrid area when Ramos was sent to the point for the VAR review.

Substitute Luka Modric crowned Madrid’s victory in the ’90s with Barcelona looking for a draw.

Madrid leads the league with 13 points. Barcelona has 7 with a game in hand.

Gone are the listless Madrid who had felt embarrassed in the home losses to Cádiz and Shakhtar Donetsk during the previous week.

Ramos had been eliminated from Cádiz’s defeat at halftime with a blow to the knee that also knocked him out of Shakhtar’s defeat in the Champions League.

With their back barking orders at the center of their defense, Madrid was the compact, aggressive team that had beaten Barcelona in the league last season.

Ramos was also instrumental in the attack when he used his wiles to deal with Lenglet and then complained vehemently after he collapsed on the grass from the defender’s pull.

“Both Lenglet and I pushed our defense to the limit, and in this case, it was very clear,” Ramos said. “He caught me while I was jumping. The VAR is there to help and I think it was a penalty. Then we went looking for a third goal after they had suffered that blow to their morale instead of just sitting down. ”

Barcelona’s American defender Sergio Dest, making his third start with his new club, had his doubts.

“I don’t know (if it was a penalty),” Dest said. “But for me, it’s like to keep playing.”

It was the first “classic” match played without fans since the Spanish league closed all stadiums to the public after the start of the coronavirus pandemic.