Ole Gunnar Solskjær has hit back at Rio Ferdinand after the former Manchester United defender questioned how the Norwegian dealt with new signing Cristiano Ronaldo in midweek.
Footage has surfaced of the five-time Ballon d'Or winner standing side-by-side with The Red Devils' boss after he had been substituted 18 minutes from time, something the former United centre back was not best pleased with.
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"If I'm the manager, I've got to be honest, I'm telling him to sit down," Ferdinand told BT Sport.
When asked about the comments, Solskjær was dismissive and criticised his former teammate for a lack of understanding.
"Rio, again you know, sometimes he comments on things he doesn't really know," he said, as quoted by Metro. "It should have been a yellow card for the boy when he brought down Nemanja (Matic). Both Bruno (Fernandes) and Cristiano, as competitive as they are, suddenly I had them on my shoulder.
They were there for a brief spell and shouted to the referee. That was the aggravation of getting a few bad decisions against us."
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The Manchester United manager went on to explain what happened next on the touchline and emphasised how only he and his assistants are allowed to patrol the technical area.
"But then Cristiano sat down and Bruno sat down," Solskjær continued. "We know that there is only one man allowed in that technical area and that's either me or Michael Carrick or Mike Phelan or Kieran McKenna who is up there.
That was just a spur-of-the moment thing, over a player who should have been sent off. So I don't have a problem with showing some passion and then going back down. It's not like he (Ronaldo) was coaching his players. No."
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The Portuguese pair's touchline antics did not help United claim all three points in the end against Young Boys in the Champions League, with a Jesse Lingard howler handing the hosts a last-gasp victory.
However, all three players were instrumental in the club's dramatic 2-1 win against West Ham this afternoon, in which Ronaldo levelled proceedings and Lingard scored a stunning winner against his former club. They were helped out by goalkeeper David de Gea too, who denied Mark Noble from the penalty spot in added time.
If they can take their Premier League form into Europe, Ferdinand will have very few things to criticise Solskjær about between now and the end of the season.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United, Premier League, Rio Ferdinand, Champions League, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, BT Sport, Cristiano Ronaldo
