Bruno Fernandes has angrily hit back at claims that he dug out Cristiano Ronaldo with his comments following Manchester United's 2-1 win over Manchester City on Saturday.
United headed into the Manchester derby without the services of Ronaldo, whose second spell at Old Trafford came to an abrupt and bitter end last month. But Erik ten Hag's side didn't need their former talisman to claim a famous victory, which came courtesy of two goals in four second-half minutes from Fernandes and Marcus Rashford.
Fernandes was quick to praise his team-mates after the win - but some people speculated that the Portuguese midfielder had attacked his compatriot with his post-match verdict.
Speaking after the match, the jubilant United skipper said: "[We] used to be individuals, now we are a team. You can see a proper team that works for each other."
Some people speculated that those comments were a dig at Ronaldo, whose attitude has been regularly criticised during his second spell at the club. Unsurprisingly, Fernandes reacted angrily to suggestions that he had taken aim at his former Old Trafford team-mate and decided to fire back with a response on social media.
In an Instagram story shared on Saturday night, Fernandes said: "I know that is difficult to see Manchester United doing well, [but I] don't have anything to [say] about us on the news apart [from] good things!
"Don't use my name to attack Cristiano. Cristiano was part of our team for half the season and as I said in many interviews, everyone since Liverpool is being amazing and acting like a proper team and you can see the results. We carry on!'"
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United's triumph in the derby means Ten Hag's side have now beaten Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City this season. The Red Devils are now just one point behind City in third spot and in contention to mount an unexpected title challenge.
After suffering the ignominy of back-to-back defeats against Brighton and Brentford at the start of his Old Trafford tenure, Ten Hag has seen his side lose just twice in 15 games since.
But even though Manchester United have now propelled themselves back into the upper echelons of the Premier League, and the title race, Ten Hag was reluctant to entertain talk of a title challenge.
"We have improved, that is obvious," the Dutchman said after the match on saturday. "There is still a long way to go but we have a lot of aspects in our game we have to improve but we are progressing.
"The fans may dream but we are not, we have to keep our feet on the ground and face that our game has a lot to improve. It can’t happen that after half-time we are losing so much control in the game."
