Bruno Fernandes' recent comments about himself shed new light on why he clashed with Pep Guardiola during the Manchester derby.
The Manchester United midfielder engaged in a brief verbal spat with Manchester City boss Guardiola, who was stood on the touchline.
The exchange concluded with Fernandes putting his finger to his lips.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer opted against criticising the midfielder's conduct following the match, suggesting he has a winner's mentality, which has been lacking at United in recent years.
And recent comments from Fernandes back this up, with the Portuguese explaining he can't help but be a "warrior" and "battle" on the pitch.
When asked to describe the type of player he is in an interview on Man United's official website, the Portuguese said: "Warrior, because for me every game is a battle.
"You need to go out to the game and just understand you need to beat your opponent.
"With all of the respect, because you need to have respect for your opponent, but you need to beat them. If you don't beat them, they will beat you. It doesn't matter who is on the other team.
"If it is a friend, because I have friends playing in the Premier League, I don't care. At that moment I will be the biggest enemy they can have."
Fernandes was widely praised for standing up to Guardiola, showing 'grit' not seen at United since the days of Roy Keane and co.
Opening up on why he clashed with Guardiola, Fernandes told Sky Sports: "I spoke about this with some friends. Some people think 'Pep's won everything, so who is Bruno to do this to him?' but I think it's about respect.
"Now I'm outside of the pitch, I don't think I'd do this again.
"But at that moment, the words he said to me made me mad, and on the pitch I'm a little bit… nervous. This is the kind of player I am.
"I have respect for Pep for what he's done for football, because he changed some mentalities in football, but at that moment he didn't respect me and so he didn't deserve me respect at that moment on the pitch. But for me it doesn't matter."
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