José Mourinho accused Antonio Conte of trying to humiliate him as he endured a 4-0 loss in his return to Chelsea as manager of Manchester United.

United gave up a goal to Pedro after just 30 seconds.

Mourinho had been infuriated by Conte’s attempts to whip up the home support after N’Golo Kanté scored Chelsea’s fourth goal, and confronted his opposite number as they shook hands at the final whistle.

Mourinho, speaking in Italian, appeared to tell Conte he should behave like that “at 1-0, not at 4-0.”

Conte denied that had been his motivation, explaining post‑match that he had simply been seeking to generate a positive reaction from the crowd.

When a member of the United coaching staff ignored Conte’s outstretched hand as they turned to retreat down the tunnel, it provoked a heated argument with a member of the Italian’s own back-room team.

“I think that a private conversation must remain private,” Conte said. “If someone discover something, OK ... but for me the private conversation remains private.

“I think that, today, it was right to call on our fans in a moment when I could only hear the supporters of Manchester United [singing] at 4-0. So I called the fans to give the players a great clap after this kind of performance. The players deserved that.

“We live with emotions. If you want to cut the emotions, we can stay at home and I will change jobs. It’s important for our fans to push in every moment of the game. When the players deserve it after this performance, it’s right to receive a great clap from the fans.”

Mourinho was fired as manager of Chelsea in December of 2015.

"You know me: I spoke to Conte, not to you,” Mourinho said when asked about the incident. “I’m not the kind of guy to come here and share with you things I don’t want to share. What is between me and Antonio is for us ... or up to him to talk if he wants to. That is his problem. I have no comment.”