Clement Lenglet: Contact with Raphael Varane Was 'Bad Luck' but Not a Penalty

Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet has denied fouling Real Madrid's Raphael Varane in their 0-0 draw at the Camp Nou on Wednesday.

Los Blancos captain Sergio Ramos told Movistar (via Goal) he felt VAR missed two obvious penalties when Lenglet caught Varane on the thigh in the first half, just moments after Ivan Rakitic had pulled Varane's shirt.

However, per Marca, Lenglet said:

"I wanted to head the ball and give more force to my movement so that the ball went further.

"Out of bad luck, I touched Varane's leg. I'm not a player that likes to kick people.

"For me, it's not a penalty."I'm the protagonist and I know that I'm not going to make a foul.

"If some people think it is [a penalty], then that's their opinion."

Lenglet may have been preoccupied with heading the ball clear following a Real corner, but it's clear his studs made a significant impact on his French compatriot's thigh while he was doing so:

As Managing Madrid's Kiyan Sobhani observed, Varane was at the centre of several incidents early on in which Real were fortunate to escape any sanctions:

Since the start of last season, Ramos has taken 15 penalties for Real Madrid and Spain and converted all of them, so had Real been awarded a spot-kick, it almost certainly would have separated the two sides.

Both teams had excellent opportunities to score on Wednesday.

Ramos and Gerard Pique both had to make goal-line clearances to deny Lionel Messi and Casemiro, respectively, while Gareth Bale was denied a goal in the second half after a VAR review found Ferland Mendy was offside in the buildup:

Matt Wiltse of Managing Madrid singled out Varane as one of Los Blancos' top performers:

Ramos will be 34 before the end of the season, so it likely won't be long before the 26-year-old Varane becomes an even more important figure at the back for the Spanish giants.

He's helped Real concede just 12 goals in their 17 La Liga matches this season. Only Atletico Madrid have shipped fewer with 10.