Dani Carvajal: 'Red card decided El Clasico'

Real Madrid defender Dani Carvajal has insisted that Sergio Ramos's red card during Sunday's El Clasico with Barcelona at the Bernabeu "decided the match".

The two teams looked to be sharing the points in the La Liga clash when James Rodriguez levelled for Real Madrid in the 85th minute, but Lionel Messi's dramatic injury-time strike secured a 3-2 victory for Barcelona.

Carvajal, however, has claimed that the sending-off of Ramos, which came in the 77th minute after a rash challenge on Messi, was the deciding factor in the Spanish capital.

"It was a crazy game, the red card decided the match. We managed to get back level, but ultimately a counter-attack took the three points," Carvajal told reporters. "Calmness is needed, it's no big deal. We have one more game left than them, this is football and we have to keep going."

Barcelona have moved above Real Madrid to the top of La Liga, although Zinedine Zidane's side still have a game in hand over their rivals.