Guardiola: I encouraged players to celebrate Manchester derby win

Pep Guardiola attempted to deflect the attention away from his Manchester City players by insisting he encouraged them to celebrate Sunday's derby win over Manchester United.

Manchester City recorded a 2-1 victory over its local rival, with reports after the match suggesting the visiting side went over the top as they celebrated in the locker room. City's jubilation is thought to have triggered a melee in the tunnel at Old Trafford, which saw Romelu Lukaku come to the defense of manager Jose Mourinho, who is believed to have had milk poured on him during the fracas.

Both teams were asked Monday to provide an account of the event that unfolded.

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Guardiola claimed he made the call to celebrate in a similar fashion to other victories City recorded this season.

"I encouraged the players to celebrate victory, but of course inside the locker room and with huge respect for our opponents, not just Manchester United," Guardiola said, according to Jonathan Smith of ESPN FC.

When asked if the celebrations were excessive, Guardiola, according to James Dale of Sky Sports, said: "Definitely not. We won a derby, what do people expect - we don't celebrate?

"It was the same after the Southampton game, that was 96 minutes or something like that, but we were happy. It was a derby, it was the closest rival ...

"(Our behaviour) was correct, believe me. We jumped because we were happy. People have to understand that we were happy. I think all the teams around the world, when they win a derby they are so happy. When we won with Bayern we were happy, with Barcelona we celebrated."