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Football

16th Oct 2018

Eric Dier’s tackle completely flattens Sergio Ramos as England earn famous win in Spain

Simon Lloyd

Sergio Ramos remains one of the world’s finest defenders

A regular in both the Real Madrid and Spanish sides for the last decade, Ramos has won the lot – even if he has ruffled a few feathers along the way (we’re looking at you, Liverpool fans).

On Monday evening, the 32-year-old was back in his hometown of Seville to captain his national side in their Uefa Nations League game against England. It would not go to plan for him and his La Roja teammates.

Their 3-2 defeat was the first time the Spanish national side had conceded three goals on home soil in a competitive match. It was also their first loss at home in 15 years.

Ramos scored with the final touch of the game to reduce the deficit to just one goal, but he and his fellow defenders struggled to cope with England’s attacking play during the early stages of the game – two goals from Raheem Sterling either side of Marcus Rashford’s effort giving the Three Lions what proved to be an unassailable lead.

Goals aside, one of the more enjoyable moments of the first-half for many England fans was the sight of Ramos being sent to the deck by what appeared to be a perfectly timed tackle from Eric Dier.

The Tottenham midfielder thundered into the World Cup winner inside his own penalty area, the back of his head thudding against the turf as he clattered to the ground. Dier won the ball, sending it out of touch, though – much to the bemusement of many watching – his challenge was deemed worthy of a free-kick and a yellow card.

https://twitter.com/ndyGerlis/status/1051941737311154177

Despite the booking, plenty of those watching – particularly some Liverpool supporters – seemed to rank it amongst one of their favourite moments of the match.