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Sergio Ramos ’ shithousery has become part and parcel of the modern game. Whether it’s kicking Mohamed Salah in or getting Juan Cuadrado sent off – both of which took place in a Champions League final – the Spaniard’s villinary is infamous.
Which is why his antics, and subsequent comments, in last night’s European clash with Ajax will come as a surprise to absolutely no-one.
With one minute left of normal time during the first-leg last-16 tie, the Madrid captain came sliding in on Kasper Dolberg to pick up a yellow card and earn a suspension for the second leg.
Reckless? Foolish? Completely unintentional? Probably not. Many were quick to observe that Ramos, who had been on two bookings heading into the match, knew what he was doing given a suspension now will reduce the risk of missing a match later in the competition – with all bookings wiped following the quarter-final stage.
Nonetheless, it’s a dangerous approach as Uefa rules state a player who purposely obtains a booking can be banned for two games.
Last night's Champions League stars ranked and ratedShow all 45 1 /45Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Tuesday's Champions League power rankings Who was Tuesday night's standout performer? We rank and rate every single player from the matches in Manchester and Rome.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Paul Pogba (Man Utd) - 4 Marked closely by Marquinhos but managed to occasionally break loose. Late red card prevents him from a return to Paris.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Marcus Rashford (Man Utd) - 5 Failed to carry his domestic form into European competition and, short of a few moments of good link-up play, led the line ineffectively.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Francisco Soares (Porto) - 5 Picked up an unlikely assist when Adrian Lopez pounced upon his sliced shot. But a poor, lightweight performance.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Ashley Young (Man Utd) - 5 Up for the challenge, as the robust challenge on Di Maria showed, but found dangerously out of his depth.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Eric Bailly (Man Utd) - 5 Preferred over Jones due to his speed but that extra yard of pace counted for little once Mbappe put on the afterburners.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Anthony Martial (Man Utd) - 5 A subdued presence on the left flank until, like Lingard, his evening was cut short by injury.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Otavio Edmilson (Porto) - 5 Scuffed a shot wide in the first-half and was repeatedly caught out of position by Stephan El Shaarawy on the counter.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Ander Herrera (Man Utd) - 5 Another who began well defensively but, like many of team-mates, tired and tailed off as PSG began to take control.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Victor Lindelof (Man Utd) - 5 A performance to forget for the much-improved Swede, who had few answers to Mbappé, Di Maria and Draxler’s movement.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Nemanja Matic (Man Utd) - 5 Began well, intercepting play at key moments, but lost Kimpembe on the costly corner. He and United never recovered.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus) - 6 The greatest goalkeeper of his generation spent the evening relatively undisturbed.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Luke Shaw (Man Utd) - 6 Unable to support the attack as much as he would have liked though largely kept an ageing Dani Alves in check.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma) - 6 Combined well with Fazio down the left.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Fernando (Porto) - 6 Quiet. Had a good chance in the first-half, turning nicely and shooting low, which was well saved by Antonio Mirante.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Bryan Cristante (Roma) - 6 Helped set up Roma's first, teeing up Dzeko who found Zaniolo, but otherwise anonymous.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Juan Bernat (PSG) - 6 Clattering tackle on Young earned a yellow. Appeared vulnerable when up against Lingard until his opposite number was forced off.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Pepe (Porto) - 6 So much experienced, but the former Real Madrid man is slowing down and had a hard night.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Danilo (Porto) - 6 Sent a header at the back post agonisingly wide at the start of the second-half. Should have scored.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Jesse Lingard (Man Utd) - 7 United’s brightest outfield player in the first half until his evening was cut short by an apparent hamstring injury.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Yacine Brahimi (Porto) - 7 Solid and made a crucial intervention in the first-half, darting in front of Iker Casillas to hack away Edin Dzeko's dangerous cross into the box.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Hector Herrera (Porto) - 7 The Porto skipper came so very close to levelling the score in the closing stages, cutting inside and blasting a shot from outside the box which went narrowly wide.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Daniele De Rossi (Roma) - 7 A typically all action performance from the Roma skipper.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Alex Telles (Porto) - 7 A threat from set-pieces and repeatedly dragged Porto forward on the counter-attack.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Felipe (Porto) - 7 Largely solid, although struggled against the pace and trickery of the impressive Lorenzo Pellegrini.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Dani Alves (PSG) - 7 Not his old, marauding self but that is understandable at 35 years of age.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Eder Militao (Porto) - 7 Porto's best defender although struggled when competing with Dzeko under the high ball.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Iker Casillas (Porto) - 7 A good performance from the experienced goalkeeper, who denied Kolarov in the final stages with his face.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Thilo Kehrer (PSG) - 7 Picked out by some as a potential weak link but kept watch over both Martial and Sanchez, limiting their impact.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Alessandro Florenzi (Roma) - 7 A solid performance on the defender's 250th appearance in a Roma shirt.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Marco Verratti (PSG) - 7 Started despite concerns over an ankle injury and performed well in the circumstances.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Antonio Mirante (Roma) - 7 Solid on just his second Champions League appearance and could do little with Porto's late away goal.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Kostas Manolas (Roma) - 7 Composed at the back but wasted a fine chance to open the scoring in the first-half.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Presnel Kimpembe (PSG) - 7 Walked a tightrope after an early booking for fouling Rashford and had several hairy moments but more than made up for them with the goal.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma) - 7 A good performance although often dropped too deep to help Roma's attack.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma) - 8 A brilliant, energetic display from the midfielder and was unlucky to see a fine low strike saved by Iker Casillas.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Thiago Silva (PSG) - 8 A reminder of his old, dominant self. Shut down the few United attacks which managed to make their way past PSG’s equally impressive midfield.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Julian Draxler (PSG) - 8 Linked up well with Di Maria and Mbappe playing off him, even if he did not have a hand in either goal.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Federico Fazio (Roma) - 8 Marauding performance at the back and strode forward impressively in the first-half, so nearly setting up Edin Dzeko.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Marquinhos (PSG) - 8 Sat on Pogba when United were in possession and dominated the midfield contest, strangling Solskjaer’s attempts to prise open the visitors.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Angel Di Maria (PSG) - 8 Booed from his very first touch and suffered from nerves in a difficult first half but responded brilliantly after the break, powering the Parisians to victory.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Edin Dzeko (Roma) - 8 An influential performance alongside the promising Zaniolo. Hit the post on the stroke of half-time and assisted both goals.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated David de Gea (Man Utd) - 8 United’s stand-out performer, as usual. Denied Mbappé superbly with a second-half reaction save, having already frustrated PSG’s frontman in the first half.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Kylian Mbappe (PSG) - 8 Had a quiet start, then suddenly hit the gas, motoring through United’s defence and scoring a deserved goal in the second half.
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Last night's Champions League stars ranked and rated Nicolo' Zaniolo (Roma) - 9 The star of the evening. The 19-year-old scored both of Roma's goals and was utterly superb throughout.
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This seemed to have slipped Ramos' mind as he told reporters in the immediate aftermath of the game that he would “be lying if I didn’t force [the booking]”.
But, after the penny dropped, the defender later said the view he intentionally played for the yellow card “hurts”, insisting “I have not forced the card”.
“In a game there are many tensions, many sensations and many pulsations,” he tweeted. “You have to make decisions in seconds. The best of today is the result. The worst, not being able to be with my team-mates for a game.”
Pundit Martin Keown said it was “very obvious” Ramos was looking to get booked when he cut down Dolberg.
Dani Carvajal received a two-game ban from Uefa when he was judged to have been booked on purpose in the final minute of a 6-0 win over Apoel Nicosia in last season’s tournament.
Ramos, never change.
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