Douglas Luiz fires back at Rio Ferdinand after he mocked him for celebration vs Man Utd, he's explained it

Douglas Luiz has responded to Rio Ferdinand after he mocked the Aston Villa midfielder for his celebration during Sunday's Premier League clash against Manchester United.

The Brazil international performed a 'shoulder shimmy' celebration in front of Andre Onana and Raphael Varane after he equalised for Unai Emery's side in the 67th minute.

His celebration is believed to have angered Varane, who confronted Luiz after Scott McTominay scored the winning goal with four minutes remaining of normal time.

As soon as the full-time whistle had blown, former Manchester United defender aimed a post at the Brazilian. He posted a picture of the so-called 'shimmy' on X, formerly Twitter, alongside the caption: "U ok @dgoficial."

It has taken Luiz over 15 hours to respond but he has since explained the reasoning behind the celebration. "I’m good, thanks," he wrote. "It’s just carnaval [sic] time in Brazil."

I’m good, thanks
it’s just carnaval time in Brazil 🇧🇷 https://t.co/ncErg0oMV2

— Douglas Luiz (@dgoficial) February 12, 2024

After Sunday's game at Villa Park, United manager Erik ten Hag claimed that Luiz's celebration may have motivated his team to pick up all three points against Unai Emery's side.

Speaking in his post-game press conference about the celebration, he said: "I don’t have an opinion about that. I haven’t spoken to the players. Maybe it's fueling, I don't know.

"I don’t think it is important. It is about us, we have to think about our game and not the opposition."

Ten Hag would later call the win "massive" as they reduced the gap in the race for a Champions League spot.

“It was massive. It's a massive win for us. So, we get closer. And that was the aim for today and was absolutely our target. And we did it. And I think also the way we did it, I think I liked it," he told MUTV.

"I liked especially the first 20 minutes. And when we are dictating the game, after I think we are dropping a little bit too much. We had our moments in the counter attacks, but yeah, I think then at 1-1, to fight back, we are really happy for today.”

The Dutchman added: "I never think in negative scenarios, I'm thinking positive. We know we have to catch up, but we are not there yet and still we have to catch up.

"But I think we are in a good mood and we have to keep this process going and we have to still improve. If we do this, with many games to play, we will see what happens.”