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Fernandinho has dismissed talk of a rift with Vincent Kompany as the Blues prepare for the biggest week of their season.

The Brazilian midfielder denied reports that he and the City skipper had to be separated after arguing at half time of the defeat at Liverpool a fortnight ago.

And he claimed that he had missed the following game against Leicester – when Kompany was left on the bench – because he had a calf problem, and was also unwell.

Reports claimed the two players had a furious exchange in the Anfield dressing room after a mix-up between them handed Jordan Henderson a goal.

Fuel was thrown on the fire by the fact that manager Manuel Pellegrini then dropped Vincent Kompany to the bench, while Fernandinho and Samir Nasri – also blamed for the goal - were left out of the squad altogether for the game.

But Fernandinho said that the “argument” was little more than a loud conversation, and was forgotten by the time they left Anfield.

“I have seen a few things about this, and people are creating and telling stories, even though it didn’t happen that way,” said the midfielder, who happily helped out at a City in the Community disability awareness session with Wythenshawe schoolkids.

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He went on: “Every player in every team speaks to each other in order to improve the quality on the pitch – that communication is necessary. You have to talk, and that is what happened.

“There was a conversation, and not much more than that. I don’t know why people actually thought there was a fight - we spoke about how we could improve things in that match.

“I don’t have anything bad to say about Vinny – he is a great player, a great team member, and I have always liked him. It’s very weird that this story actually came up, for something so small to suddenly become so big.

“It was nothing major. There were other people around us, and you have to raise your voice a little bit. There was no fight, just a conversation.

“I understand that people sometimes raise their voices to make their point more clearly, but that was not actually the case. I can only presume some people around us felt we were raising our voices, and that it was a situation different to the usual.

“Myself and Vinny spoke about it that day, and everything was settled on that day, finished.”

As for his absence against Leicester, Fernandinho said: “I had a calf injury and wasn’t feeling very well, so I didn’t actually train during the week.”

Both players, as well as Nasri and Pablo Zabaleta – also axed – are expected to be back as the Blues get ready for a week that could be crucial to their fortunes this season.

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They travel to Burnley on Saturday needing a win to keep Chelsea within range, before flying to Barcelona to try to over-turn a 2-1 deficit in the Champions League tie.

Fernandinho said no-one was looking beyond Burnley: “Often, the smallest teams are the most difficult to break down, as we found when we were beating Burnley at home and ended up drawing.

“This game is extremely important for us and we need to be at our best.

“Vinny and I are together with the team, and ready for this challenge, which starts again on Saturday.”

And the fun sessions with the kids, aimed at educating able-bodied kids about life with a disability, helped keep things in perspective.

“I got the chance to feel, under my own skin, what it feels like to have a disability, by playing football with a blindfold, or by playing seated volleyball, It’s a great initiative from City in the Community,” he said.

“Because our jobs and schedules are busy we don’t always have time to help with these projects, so this was a great opportunity to get involved with children from our community. It’s all about bringing awareness.”