Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer pleased with Bruno Fernandes ‘character’ after Pep Guardiola confrontation

Fernandes briefly clashed with Guardiola towards end of derby win

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was pleased with Bruno Fernandes‘ “character” despite his brief confrontation with Pep Guardiola during Sunday’s Manchester derby.

Fernandes inspired Manchester United to a deserved 2-0 win over their historic rivals, brilliantly setting up Anthony Martial’s opening goal with a quick free-kick.

The new €55m signing from Sporting delighted Old Trafford further towards the end of the game when he confronted Manchester City manager Guardiola.

As United prepared to take a late throw-in, Guardiola threw the ball away from Fernandes and the pair appeared to engage in a heated conversation.

Fernandes was then seen to ‘shush’ Guardiola and gesture as though telling the City manager to calm down before play re-started.

Footage of the incident was shared widely on social media and, when the matter was raised post-match, Solskjaer said he was more than happy with his new signing’s attitude.

“You need character here, you need character at this club,” Solskjaer said when asked directly about Fernandes’ confrontation with Guardiola.

“This team, they have got that. They have learned through some hard times this season. We have been a young team and we have started something we believe in. Bruno has helped that.”

Solskjaer was thrilled with almost all aspects of United’s performance, which was arguably the most complete of his spell in charge.

“Off the ball, defensively we did excellent. Counter attacking was excellent,” he said in his post-match press conference.

“We would like to keep the ball more and keep them running more but when you get the 1-0, we still created big enough chances to win more but David make saves. We still had chances.”

Solskjaer added: “It is a privilege to have players like this, the commitment, the desire, the humility to know they have to work their socks off. It is what the fans love about these players.”