Bruno Fernandes asks Nemanja Matic to 'keep the distance' after Man Utd friendly

Bruno Fernandes and Nemanja Matic battle for the ball (Image: GETTY)

Manchester United duo Bruno Fernandes and Nemanja Matic engaged in some light-hearted banter after Saturday's intra-squad friendly.

Bruno Fernandes amusingly asked Nemanja Matic to "keep the distance" after Manchester United's intra-squad friendly at Old Trafford on Saturday. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer split his group into two teams for the practice match as the Red Devils stepped up their preparations ahead of the Premier League restart.

Professional contact sport in the United Kingdom has been given the go ahead behind closed doors, despite the rest of the population being asked to maintain social distancing practices.

Fernandes posted an image from the friendly of Matic within arm's reach, attempting to win the ball back.

And the Portuguese saw the funny side of the snap so he uploaded it to Instagram.

"Finally back at Old Trafford @nemanjamatic keep the distance please," he joked.

The midfield duo appear to have struck up a close bond following Fernandes' arrival from Sporting Lisbon in January.

Matic kept the banter flowing by uploading a different picture from the friendly to his Instagram account, which appears to show the two players striking a similar pose.

"@brunofernandes.10 are you copying me?" the former Chelsea ace joked.

United supporters were loving the interaction between the two.

One fan wrote: "Was Matic ever involved in some insta banter like this before?

"Just love it. Can't wait until Bruno starts bonding like that with Paul."

While a second said: "Bruno not only bonded with the Portuguese speaking players. In 6 months he has become everybody’s friend.

"This is the only way the team can get through tough moments in the 90 minutes, together. Best signing since Ronaldo!"