of the campaign with a header against Espanyol in a 4–2 away win, which was also his 60th La Liga goal. With ten goals to his name, Ramos equalled his highest-scoring season at Real Madrid which he set in 2016–17. On 6 February 2019, Sergio Ramos was playing in the Clásico for the 40th time. Three days later, in the Madrid Derby against Atlético Madrid, Ramos scored his eighth penalty of the season and his 11th goal in all competitions – making it his best goal-scoring season at Real Madrid. Four days later, in the 2–1 Champions League Round of 16 first leg away win over Ajax, Ramos became just the seventh player to play 600 matches for Real Madrid. In the match against Ajax, Ramos was booked for what seemed to be a needless challenge in the 90th minute. The booking meant that Ramos would miss the second leg against Ajax at the Santiago Bernabéu due a suspension of accumulating yellow cards. This sparked controversy after Ramos hinted to journalists in a post match interview that the yellow card was deliberate, which violates UEFA's rules. Two and a half weeks later, UEFA opened a disciplinary investigation regarding this matter and decided to give Ramos a two-game ban, meaning he will also miss both the Champions League Round of 16-second leg against Ajax and the quarter-final first leg were Real Madrid to qualify. Due to Real Madrid's elimination by Ajax, the suspension carried onto the next season and Ramos missed the first Champions League game of the 2019–20 season against Paris Saint-Germain. On 17 February, Ramos played his 601st match for Real Madrid, against Girona in La Liga, equalling the record of Real Madrid legends Fernando Hierro and Paco Gento. Ten days later, Ramos played in his 41st El Clásico, in the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg at home. This was Ramos' 602nd match for Real Madrid, taking up to him fifth in Real Madrid's all-time appearances list. On 2 March, Ramos played in the La Liga El Clásico at the Bernabéu, making him equal the all-time record of Paco Gento, Manolo Sanchís and Xavi by playing in 42 Clasicos. On 5 March, Real Madrid were eliminated from the Champions League by Ajax after being thrashed 4–1 at the Santiago Bernabéu (aggregate 5–3 for Ajax). Ramos did not feature due to being suspended after forcing a yellow card in