Манчестер Юнайтед болон Манчестер Сити багуудын дерби тоглолтын маргаантай шийдвэрүүд

The Manchester derby was dominated by two controversial refereeing calls, with the goal from Erling Haaland — finally given after a long VAR check — proving decisive in their 1-0 victory.

That came after an hour, with the City forward looking offside as he slotted home a cross, only for VAR to find him onside due to the position of United defender Patrick Dorgu’s foot as the cross came in. It was also decided that a diving Enzo Fernandez did not interfere with play.

This goal followed a big flashpoint on 23 minutes. Phil Foden was fouled by Bruno Fernandes and then kicked out at the Portuguese, who had also kicked the City forward while he was on the floor. Referee Michael Oliver showed Foden the red card, leaving City a man down for the majority of the game.

Marcus Rashford then hit the post from a free kick just before half-time, and then Kobbie Mainoo after the break did the same from 20 yards.

But it was Haaland’s goal that sealed the points and kept City on a maximum of 12 points from four games.

There were also protests outside and inside Old Trafford against the club ticketing policy.

Laurie Whitwell, Sam Lee, Stuart James, Graham Scott and Conor O’Neill break down the action.

Should Haaland’s goal have been disallowed?

Aside from the factual positions of Haaland and Dorgu, there is a subjective decision too, as City’s Enzo Fernandez dives towards the ball and it flashes across the goal.

Had he touched it, he would have been offside. He didn’t, but there’s an argument that he affected the ability of United’s Lisandro Martinez to play the ball by being in his line of vision.

United have a case, but Martinez can see the ball all the way and the evidence would need to be more compelling for VAR to intervene.

On field, it is highly likely that Enzo’s actions were not given much consideration because the assistant was certain Haaland was offside.

As a result, the VAR was being asked to judge whether the officials at Old Trafford had made a clear error, when in reality they had not formed a judgement at all.

In these cases, it would make more sense to have an on-field review so the referee can revisit the incident in its entirety, but officials are also under intense pressure to make decisions quickly, and for VAR not to intervene unless absolutely necessary.

I suspect Oliver would have allowed the goal to stand had he watched all the replays, but it would have been a marginal call that could have gone either way.

#MUNMCI – 59’ VAR OVERTURN

VAR checked the referee’s call of no goal for offside – and determined that Haaland was in an onside position and recommended that the goal was awarded.

The VAR also deemed that while in an offside position, Fernandez didn’t play the ball. pic.twitter.com/TyTip3ACIh

— Premier League Match Centre (@PLMatchCentre) September 13, 2026

Graham Scott

What was Foden thinking? Did Fernandes get lucky?

Phil Foden became the second Premier League player to be sent off for kicking an opponent in the midriff in retaliation in the first month of the season.

On the opening weekend, Joao Gomes of Aston Villa kicked out at Georginio Rutter and was sent off after a VAR review. This time the referee, Michael Oliver, saw the offence for himself and rightly showed red. See, refs can be consistent.

Foden will no doubt feel aggrieved that his victim, Bruno Fernandes, escaped unpunished, but can have no complaints about his own treatment.

Last season, Reinildo of Sunderland and Kevin Schade both saw red for similar actions, which by coincidence were both on Villa’s Matty Cash.

The question about Fernandes is whether he deserved punishment for his actions, or due to Foden’s over-reaction.

That hangs on whether Oliver saw the whole incident and deemed Fernandes not guilty, or missed the start as his gaze only landed on the scene as Foden kicked out.

A yellow for Fernandes would have felt fair enough, but in any event VAR cannot intervene on a potential missed caution in these circumstances.

Graham Scott

Bizarre winner in controversial Manchester derby

In the end, the 199th Manchester derby came down to two highly controversial moments. The first incident involved a straight red card for Phil Foden, which, ironically, seemed to help City more than it did United. Fernandes challenged Foden from behind and then kicked the City winger while he was on the floor. Foden reacted angrily, kicking out at the United captain in a way that was never going to seriously hurt Fernandes but made it easy for the referee Michael Oliver to show a red card. The curious aspect to that episode was how Fernandes managed to escape without any punishment.

As for the other main talking point, debate will rage for days to come. Haaland looked to be in an offside position when he converted Josko Gvardiol’s cross, and when the flag was raised the City striker seemed to accept the outcome. However, a VAR check followed. Haaland, it transpired, was played onside by Dorgu. That left another question unanswered, though: wasn’t Fernandez, who tried to connect with Gvardiol’s centre before it got to Haaland, offside? Yes, and no. Ultimately, the verdict appeared to be that Fernandez wasn’t interfering. It was a bizarre moment to say the least and, on the face of it, hard to understand.

Stuart James

How did United perform against 10 men?

United are not accustomed to dominating the ball against City, and were painfully lacking in ideas once City went down to ten men.

Previous victories over their rivals have been built on slick, clinical counter-attacks. And it was clear Carrick’s game plan had been drawn up along the same lines, starting the more fluid Matheus Cunha over traditional centre-forward Benjamin Sesko up top.

That counterpunching approach quickly became redundant once Foden saw red, as City retreated into a tight defensive block. Initially, United reacted poorly to their new circumstances, ponderously circulating the ball and making it easy for City to maintain their shape. A speculative long-range shot from Maguire summed up the lack of imagination, his weak effort dribbling along the floor after the absence of purposeful runs ahead of him left him with few other options.

But they raised the tempo in the second half, with Mainoo in particular adding forward thrust through some quick, one-touch passing and surging carries. He was unlucky not to score, too, after his curling shot crashed against the post. The Haaland suckerpunch killed United’s growing momentum, though, and their play became more stilted again.

Overall, one damning statistic told the story of United’s afternoon. Although they hit the woodwork twice, they failed to record a single shot on target after the red card until Bruno Fernandes’ effort in the 70th minute.

Conor O’Neill

What role did Fernandez in City’s performance?

City’s second-half performance with 10 men will live long in the memory of the away supporters, who will regard them as heroes. Nobody let themselves down, with Elliot Anderson winning the ball back left, right and centre, Iliman Ndiaye proving to be an inspired half-time change, Haaland upping the ante after the break and impressive contributions from each of the back four.

If anybody most summed up the fight, and some of the dark arts required when playing with 10 men, certainly when you feel aggrieved about the red card itself, then it was Enzo Fernandez.

He was everywhere in midfield too, hoovering up loose balls, linking up the play, slowing it down when needed, and buying a few moments by going down holding his face, and getting into a spat with Harry Maguire — both players got a yellow card for that one, so presumably Michael Oliver does know that it is a valid course of action after all.

Fernandez was withdrawn in the final 10 minutes and had to walk around the far side of the pitch, in front of the United fans he had been trying to hard to either pacify or infuriate, depending on whether he was trying to give City a breather on the ball, or shake things up a bit.

The City fans were singing his name all afternoon, the ‘Zombie’ chant that got its first airing in Porto, and his role in this result will earn him a place in City folklore — as will be the case for the rest of his team-mates.

Sam Lee

How big were the protests inside and outside Old Trafford?

Police estimate around 500 fans attended the protest at the top of Sir Matt Busby Way, which was organised by The 1958 group to demonstrate against the club’s policy on ticketing.

United have been strongly criticised for their handling of a ticket touting crackdown, which resulted in nearly 700 season ticket holders having to go through an appeals process to keep their seat after initially being banned. A further 1,000 were indeed sanctioned. Ticket prices have also risen.

A banner held by fans outside Old Trafford read: ‘You take it all from fans and banning us for nothing.’ They let off red, green and gold flares and sang for the removal of the Glazer family as owners, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe also a target.

Later, Ratcliffe was in the directors’ box at Old Trafford as another banner was unfurled by fans in the Stretford End. ‘The way you treat us is a disgrace,’ it said, stretched behind the players’ tunnel as the teams walked out for maximum impact.

This was the work of TRA, the group who have worked to improve the ground’s atmosphere over the last decade. They also withdrew the flags that usually populate the Stretford End.

Laurie Whitwell

What did Carrick say?

We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.

What did Maresca say?

We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.

What next for United?

Wednesday, September 16: Brighton (Home), Carabao Cup third round, 8pm BST, 3pm ET

What next for City?

Thursday, September 17: Norwich (Home), Carabao Cup third round, 7.30pm BST, 2.30pm ET; Sunday, September 20: Sunderland (Home), Premier League, 2pm BST, 9am ET