Former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has leapt to the defence of Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos following his challenge on Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi during the El Clasico on Saturday night.
Real Madrid hosted Barcelona for the second time in three days in the league after both teams had met in the second leg of their Spanish Copa Del Rey semifinal tie on Wednesday night.
Sergio Ramos clashed with Lionel Messi during the second half of that game after he left the Argentine national team captain with a bloodied mouth.
Replays showed that the 2010 World Cup winner elbowed Messi in the mouth thereby leaving the Barcelona player with blood in his mouth.
In his defence, Jose Mourinho told BeIN Sports that Real Madrid skipper Sergio Ramos was trying to provoke a reaction from his teammates.
The former Real Madrid manager also pointed out that the Los Merengues were too soft as they surrendered to Messi and Barcelona.
Barcelona won the game 1-0 courtesy the first half strike from Ivan Rakitic who has been linked with a move to Premier League clubs like Chelsea and Manchester United.
The Catalans had earlier defeated Barcelona 3-0 on Wednesday night in what was the second leg of their Spanish Copa Del Rey semifinal clash for a 4-1 aggregate win.