Dani Carvajal Accused of Biting and Punching Mario Mandzukic, Denies Allegations

Real Madrid right-back Dani Carvajal has denied claims he bit Atletico Madrid striker Mario Mandzukic during the Spanish sides' ill-tempered Champions League quarter-final first-leg draw on Tuesday.

The Spanish international was alleged to have bitten the Croatian in the second half, as well as lashing out in Mandzukic's direction, highlighted below:

Carvajal only denied claims of a bite after the match, as reported by Dan Ripley of the MailOnline: "I've seen that after the game I have been accused of biting another player, I want to say clearly that I haven't bitten anybody, nor attempted to do so."

Vitally, Mandzukic doesn't believe Carvajal bit him, per Nicholas Rigg of AS:

AS offered its opinion on Twitter:

Football writer Rik Sharma provided an alleged image of the impact Carvajal made on Mandzukic's arm:

Sport suggested the defender should have been sent off regardless of the potential bite:

Much like the referee, Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti appeared to miss the incident, per Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC:

Mandzukic was involved in physical battles all night. He appeared fired up after receiving an elbow from Sergio Ramos, causing facial injuries which needed to be tended to on multiple occasions. B/R UK tweeted images of Mandzukic's bloody face:

Even so, the former Bayern Munich man appeared to overplay his reaction during the Carvajal incident, flinging himself to the ground to grab the official's attention.

Andres Kudacki/Associated Press

Former Manchester United midfielder and ITV pundit Paul Scholes suggested the 28-year-old was out to make a nuisance of himself, per Ripley: "Mario was trying to cause a bit of trouble. The amount of times he was down, he made a meal of a few things. He makes out to be a tough centre forward but he was anything but."

While Mandzukic can certainly be accused of going to ground easily, Carvajal's punch appears far more serious, even if he didn't bite the forward. He is one of Los Blancos' more understated players, someone who usually fulfills his duties without much fuss, but he appeared to let frustration get the better of him.

The 23-year-old has been booked nine times in 24 La Liga appearances this campaign, per WhoScored.com, and he was lucky not to have received his marching orders at the Vicente Calderon.

Andres Kudacki/Associated Press

It's possible UEFA will revisit the incident and dish out a retrospective punishment. Any potential suspension would see Alvaro Arbeloa likely step in if this happens.

Although Tuesday's fixture provided a fast-paced, end-to-end spectacle, a lack of goals ensures the unsavoury incident between Carvajal and Mandzukic remains the match's defining moment. It's certainly all to play for heading into the second leg, which will see Atletico try to silence Real on their Bernabeu turf.

We can expect yet another heated battle, with or without Carvajal.