It's no secret that whenever Manchester City and Manchester United square-up to one another on the pitch it's always going to be a heated, frantic affair. Table-topping City travelled across town to Old Trafford on Sunday evening to potentially widen the gap over second-placed United by 11-points in the race for the Premier League title, and the 'Sky Blues' did exactly what they set out to do with an assured 2-1 victory.

An evidently jubilant 'Citizens' collective marched off the pitch at full-time with their tails up. But amongst the alleged loud music which bellowed from City's dressing room, tempers flared in the 'Red Devils' camp as a result of their opponent's somewhat gloating, disrespectful antics.

With players and staff from both parties supposedly puffing chests at one another, insults, slurs and even milk bottles were brandished in the melee. Although City boss Pep Guardiola insists his triumphant contingent conducted themselves "correctly".

Definitely not

Speaking to the media on Tuesday - via a report provided by Mirror - Guardiola was adamant that despite the skirmish which left his assistant coach Mikel Arteta injured with a cut on the forehead, his men "definitely" did not intend to antagonise United with their celebrations, claiming, "It was the same as the Southampton game".

The Manchester derby is always a greatly anticipated date which is circled on the calendar, and after his set-up defeated their bitter counterparts, 'Pep' defended his team's actions, stating they would "celebrate" just "like when United win the derby games," and the "locker room" is where they indeed "tried to do" so. Even if it spilt out of its confines.

Correct

Without backtracking on his beliefs, the ex-FC Barcelona manager said his squad's ardent rejoice "was correct, believe me." He then proceeded to proclaim they "jumped because we were happy." Guardiola understands the imperative nature of the fixture to get the three points, an "important game" which ultimately gifted his men the upper-hand at the summit of the domestic standings.

Having manned the helm at both Barca and Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, Guardiola would have learned that a positive morale ultimately wins trophies. Accolades and silverware are virtually annual for Guardiola - discounting last term in his first year at the Etihad, of course - the Spaniard openly revealed he "encouraged the players to celebrate". Dropping the points will hurt United, naturally, but if it was Jose Mourinho in Guardiola's shoes, one could presume the Portuguese tactician would react in the same manner, given the magnitude of the encounter and the significance of the victory.
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