Bruno Fernandes has revealed that disagreements between Manchester United teammates on the pitch go no further than that, as he referenced incidents involving Tyrell Malacia and Harry Maguire in recent times.
United recorded a third successive Premier League victory at the King Power Stadium against Leicester earlier this month, courtesy of a first-half effort from Jadon Sancho. United were dominant for long spells against Brendan Rodgers' side and should have been out of sight by the half-time interval.
During the second half Fernandes was involved in a small war of words with Malacia, who was making just his third start for the club, after the Dutchman didn't pass him the ball.
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Fernandes, speaking to The Athletic, said: "I said, 'Ty, just put your head up and look to the other side'. He was quite angry with me because I was talking to him.
"But he didn't understand what I was saying. At the end of the game, I went up to him and put my hands on his head calmly and said, 'When I talk to you, I am not shouting at you in a bad way, I am just asking you to switch the play'. He said, 'Yes, sorry, I was just tired'."
Fernandes, however, has recognised that the situation works both ways and that there will be occasions in the future where Malacia is the one shouting at him, dishing out instructions.
"In some games, it will be him shouting at me and I am OK with that," Fernandes continued. "I remember with 'H' (Harry Maguire) in the Europa League against Copenhagen [in the 2019/20 campaign].
"We were defending and I tried to control the ball and take on a defender. I lost the ball and he shouted at me, 'Bruno, hold the ball'. I was tired and said, 'Don’t shout!' In the first-half of extra time, I went up to him and said sorry for talking back. Sometimes, during games, it is tension, it is passion, you miss the ball, or he [a team-mate] doesn't run. It gets a little bit fervent.
"But nobody is doing it in a bad way. I never do it in a bad way — only if I see someone does not pass the ball when it is a two-v-one with the 'keeper."
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