Enzo Maresca bristled at the narrative. A derby won with 10 men at Old Trafford, a fourth straight league victory, a statement performance from his Manchester City side – and all anyone wanted to talk about was a still frame and a VAR line.
“To talk about one episode or one moment after that game when we played for 70-75 minutes with 10 players, I think it’s quite poor,” the City manager said ahead of Thursday’s Carabao Cup third-round tie against Norwich City. “I think the performance was unbelievable, and I’m pleased with the performance.”
A Derby Defined by a Decision
The moment in question came on the hour. Erling Haaland, lurking on the shoulder of the last defender, swept in what proved to be the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win over Manchester United. The flag went up. Old Trafford roared. For a few seconds, United believed they had survived.
Then came the familiar pause. VAR checked the lines and ruled Haaland just onside. The goal stood, City led, and with Phil Foden already dismissed, Maresca’s 10 men dug in and saw out a derby victory that carried the swagger of champions.
Only later did the picture change.
Premier League refereeing body Pro Ref confirmed the VAR team had made a critical error. While Haaland’s position had been checked correctly, officials failed to identify an earlier offside offence by Enzo Fernandez, who had dived at the ball in a central area and interfered with opponents in the build-up.
The goal should not have stood. The controversy exploded.
Maresca: “Sometimes It Goes for You, Sometimes Against You”
For Maresca, the admission of error does not erase the context of the game, nor the work his side put in with a man down.
“There is knowledge that there was a mistake and that’s all,” he said. “Sometimes it goes for you, sometimes against you. It’s football.”
He pointed quickly to the other side of the ledger. City, he argued, have been on the wrong end of similar calls before – including in the same fixture.
“Three years ago when I was here as Guardiola’s assistant, it happened the exact same against United,” he recalled. “The goal was not a regular goal and no one apologised. We are still waiting for the apology for that.”
The Italian’s message was clear: decisions come and go, but they should not be allowed to erase the story of a match in which City controlled large spells, even with reduced numbers, and found a way to win in the most hostile of environments.
Webb Admits Error
Pro Ref chief Howard Webb did not hide from the mistake. Speaking on ‘Match Officials Mic’d Up’, he acknowledged the VAR team had failed in their basic duty to consider Fernandez’s position before Haaland struck.
“I was really disappointed with this outcome. We all are,” Webb said. “None more so than the officials themselves. They take a lot of personal pride in what they do and they’re obviously hurting now, having fallen short in this situation.”
His words will do little to calm the noise around VAR, or to soothe United supporters still seething at the decision. But they do underline why Maresca is so frustrated: the entire spectacle of a derby, the tactical reshuffle after Foden’s red, the resilience of his side under pressure – all reduced to a single freeze-frame.
Focus on the Football
Maresca, who stepped into the role vacated by Pep Guardiola in the summer, has started to shape City in his own image, but the standards remain the same. Control, intensity, and an insistence that performances matter as much as results.
At Old Trafford, he felt he saw all of that. A team that refused to buckle with 10 men. A centre-forward who still finds a way to decide the biggest games. A group that has now stitched together four consecutive league wins and looks ominously settled.
The debate around VAR will rage on. The clips will be replayed, the angles dissected, the officials scrutinised again. Maresca, though, has already moved on.
He has a dressing room that believes it can win in any circumstances – and a derby victory at Old Trafford, however contested, that only strengthens that conviction.
