Manchester City went to Old Trafford on Sunday, lost Phil Foden to a red card after 23 minutes, spent 67 minutes a man short, and still walked away with all three points. Erling Haaland's 60th-minute tap-in decided the 199th Manchester derby 1-0. Three hours after the final whistle, the refereeing body Pro Ref conceded that the goal should not have counted.
That admission will not change the table. City are level with Arsenal on maximum points from four games. United have a fourth match gone and a stadium that spent the afternoon arguing with itself.
Foden's Sending-Off Set the Tone
The first half had been forgettable until Bruno Fernandes drove the ball into Foden's midriff and Foden, on the floor, kicked back with both feet. Michael Oliver went straight to his pocket. Gary Neville, on co-commentary, said VAR had described it as a two-footed kick to the stomach, and that once you do that you are not talking your way out of it.
Not everybody agreed. Roy Keane argued that Fernandes was the one who went in violently and that Foden should have stayed on. Micah Richards said much the same. Enzo Maresca took the opposite route and said both men should have walked. Whatever the reading, City had 67 minutes to survive with ten.
United Hit the Post Twice and Found Donnarumma in the Way
An extra man gave United territory and very little else. Marcus Rashford's free-kick from 28 yards came back off the woodwork in first-half stoppage time. Kobbie Mainoo curled one past Gianluigi Donnarumma on 51 minutes and watched it strike the same post. Harry Maguire nodded wide from a corner with four minutes left. In the fifth minute of added time Bryan Mbeumo looked certain to equalise until Donnarumma got a hand across to deny him.
City, for their part, nearly had a second. Enzo Fernandez's drive on 68 minutes was tipped onto the post by Senne Lammens.
The Offside That Was Not Given
Haaland's goal was flagged offside on the field. Semi-automated technology overturned that part of it and confirmed the striker was level. The argument is about Fernandez, who was plainly offside and who threw himself at the same cross without reaching it. The Premier League Match Centre's explanation was that he never touched the ball. That is not what the law says. Impacting play is the test, and a player diving in front of a defender six yards out is exactly the scenario the wording exists to cover.
Lisandro Martinez had been the defender in question and did not hide his feelings afterwards, telling Sky Sports that he went across because Fernandez was in front of him, which is why Haaland was free at the back post. He described leaving with an injustice. Michael Carrick said the explanation given to him made no sense and that the offside line itself looked dubious before you even got to the interference question.
Maresca, unsurprisingly, saw it differently: Haaland onside, Fernandez not interfering, case closed.
The wider point for City is the performance rather than the decision. A side still rebuilding under Maresca held a full-strength derby opponent to two posts and a save for over an hour with ten men. Titles are built on afternoons like that, however they are won.
Match facts: Manchester United 0-1 Manchester City, Old Trafford, Sunday 13 September 2026. Scorer: Haaland 60. Red card: Foden 23. Woodwork: Rashford 45+1, Mainoo 51 (Utd), Fernandez 68 (City). City move level with Arsenal on 12 points from four games. Pro Ref publicly accepted an error in judgement on the winning goal three hours after full time.
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