FC Barcelona's Lionel Messi was furious with Sergio Ramos after the Spaniard caught him in the face with what seemed to be a flailing elbow in El Clasico on Saturday night. While many have slammed the Real Madrid captain, Jose Mourinho seemingly understands his reasons for the challenge.
Click through the gallery above to see the elbow challenge, and Messi's reaction!
Just before half-time in the Clasico, with the Catalans leading 1-0, Ramos appeared to catch the Blaugrana skipper with his arm as they competed for a loose ball.
Messi immediately hit the ground and looked to be in some discomfort, with replays showing the Real centre-back's arm making contact with the forward's mouth.
The two captains then went face to face as they argued over the challenge, with Ramos later insisting that it was not his intention to hurt the 31-year-old.
Mourinho, who was working as a pundit for the El Clasico, believes Ramos made the challenge with the aim of upping the intensity of the game.
"I think, in the first half, both teams when they had the ball, they did not hurt the opponent too much," Mourinho told beIN SPORTS.
"There was no intensity on the defensive actions, with everybody playing in a low-medium block. It was not the temperature of a derby, of a Clasico that can settle the title.
"I think Sergio Ramos' action probably is coming from a player that knows the game has to change.
"And probably he does it with the intention of creating a different temperature for the second half, because the game until then was really soft, in my opinion."
Ramos Equals El Clasico Record
Barca held on to their lead for the rest of the match to go 12 points ahead of Los Blancos in the LaLiga standings.
Do you think Ramos should have received his marching orders for this challenge on Messi? Let us know in the comments section below.
