I didn't deliberately elbow Mandzukic, insists Ramos

Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos has denied deliberately elbowing Atletico Madrid striker Mario Mandzukic during Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final, first-leg meeting at the Vicente Calderon.

The pair was embroiled in a running battle during a fiery derby in the Spanish capital, with their most controversial clash coming in the 51st minute when they competed for a long ball to the back post.

Sergio Ramos' arm made contact with Mandzukic's head, leaving the Croatia international with blood streaming from a large gash above his eye.

Mandzukic was enraged by the incident, clearly in no doubt that the elbow was deliberate, but the accused pleaded his innocence after the game.

"I'm not getting into evaluating any fouls," he told reporters in the mixed zone after the 0-0 draw at the Calderon. "There are referees for that.

"But I did not know if Mandzukic was near me or far away. I was not intending to hit him."

The two will collide again in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu on April 22.