Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola insists there's no grudge against his Manchester United counterpart Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after Saturday's derby defeat.
United produced their best away performance of the season for the 2-1 win - in the process leaving City's title defence on the brink of collapse. The result has the current Premier League champions now 14 points behind table leaders Liverpool.
Despite the setback, Guardiola says he still enjoyed doing battle with Solskjaer on the Etihad touchline. Indeed, at one stage during the game the Catalan embraced his managerial rival in a tense moment.
In the post-match, Guardiola explained grabbing Solskjaer on the touchline and giving him a hug during a break in play.
"It was just a joke," the Catalan explained to VG.
"Ole complained on the one hand. Then I said to him: 'Don't complain at all today, please'."
Guardiola admits he's happy seeing Solskjaer now involved in the Premier League. The United manager has just beaten both Guardiola and Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho in the space of three days.
The City boss added: "It's nice to have football people like Ole here, with the way he behaves during press conferences and the way he is."
- updated December 9