He is almost always there when it matters most. From Munich to Lisbon, Marrakesh, Milan, Trondheim and now Barcelona, Sergio Ramos has shown time and again that he - perhaps more than anyone else at Real Madrid - is the man for the big occasion.
The Spain defender headed home with 11 seconds of normal time remaining as Los Blancos bagged a valuable 1-1 draw in the Clasico on Saturday, maintaining their six-point lead over Barca at the top of La Liga.
"Until the final whistle. Always until the final whistle," Ramos wrote on Twitter after adding another late goal to his collection. It is becoming a habit.
This time, the center-back converted from a Luka Modric free-kick, and in the mixed zone he said: "Another good cross by Luka, as usual... I'm happy with the goal."
It was Modric who found Ramos with a corner for the defender's epic equaliser against Atletico after 92 minutes and 48 seconds in Lisbon, which forced extra-time and allowed Madrid to claim La Decima on May 24, 2014.
"He told me where to put it," Modric said after the two combined again at Camp Nou on Saturday. "I put it there and that was that. It looks easy. But we don't practice - it just comes naturally."
Scoring important goals certainly comes naturally to Ramos, who also headed a leveler in Trondheim to save Madrid from defeat in the UEFA Super Cup in early August, netting to force extra-time in similar circumstances to Lisbon, this time with 92:34 on the clock, before Real ran out 3-2 winners over Sevilla.
"I would have preferred Ramos to have scored a bit earlier," president Florentino Perez joked afterwards. "I'm a bit too old for this suffering!"
It was another reminder to the club chief of his captain's enormous worth - and it seems incredible now that the construction magnate almost let the player leave amid stubborn contract negotiations in the summer of 2015, having gone back on his pay promise after Ramos' previous heroics in the final in Lisbon.
Real reached that showpiece fixture by beating Bayern Munich 4-0 at the Allianz Arena (and 5-0 on aggregate). But having taken a slender 1-0 lead to Germany, it was Ramos who scored twice to give Madrid the upper hand before Cristiano Ronaldo added two more in a memorable victory.
In the final itself, Atletico took an early lead following a mistake by Iker Casillas and Madrid huffed and puffed for the remainder of the match, but could find no way past the Rojiblancos' disciplined defence. Not until Ramos headed home that Modric corner after 92:48. And in extra time, Los Blancos went on to win it - just as they did in the UEFA Super Cup.
That Champions League win qualified Madrid for the Club World Cup in December 2014, and again Ramos played a pivotal part en route to yet another trophy as he scored the opener in a 4-0 win over Mexican side Cruz Azul in the last four and then netted the first goal in the final against San Lorenzo in a 2-0 victory.
A year and a half went by before Real reached another final, but when they did, up popped the defender again to score from close range in Milan against Atletico. The match ended 1-1, but Zidane's men prevailed on penalties and Ramos scored the fourth spot kick in the shootout before Juanfran missed and Ronaldo converted to seal an 11th European Cup - La Undecima.
That was in May and in August, Ramos was there once more - just as he was on Saturday and just as he has been in all of the important games for his club of late.
"You can always rely on Serge," the injured Gareth Bale tweeted after the Clasico. And indeed that is true. The defender showed once again that he is Madrid's man for the big occasion - and fans of Real will hope he continues in the same vein for many more years to come.
Wish he was at United...
