Getafe boss Cosmin Contra has played down suggestions that his side were overly physical during Sunday's La Liga clash against neighbours Atletico Madrid.

Atletico won the ill-tempered derby courtesy of a strike from Mario Mandzukic, who was also involved in two ugly off-the-ball incidents.

Getafe defender Alexis was given a red card for elbowing the Croatian, before Juan Rodriguez appeared to stamp on the leg of the Atletico striker.

"When you play against Atletico Madrid, you have to play with real intensity. I don't think we were violent at all – I think they were intense and we tried to match them," Inside Spanish Football quotes Contra as saying.

"It ended up for a more competitive encounter than we expected. I think that they'll be fighting to win the league again, although there are four or five very impressive teams this season."

Getafe currently sit 12th in La Liga.

Written by
Matt Law