Манчестер Сити талбайдаа арван тоглогчтой үлдсэн ч Манчестер Юнайтедыг буулган авлаа

Enzo Maresca strode down the Old Trafford tunnel and let out a victorious roar. “Yesssss, come on!” he cheered, after a Manchester derby that will live long in the memory.

Maresca knew the value of this one. The new Manchester City manager had already danced down the touchline to celebrate in front of the joyous away fans as soon as referee Michael Oliver blew the final whistle on a game that City had no right to win.

Maresca’s players followed soon after; Iliman Ndiaye, an inspired half-time substitute, was hanging around at the back of the group when Ruben Dias grabbed him and thrust him to the front, ensuring the new signing got a deserved ovation. Enzo Fernandez, always likely to be the centre of attention in games of this magnitude, was then pushed to the front of the crowd by Erling Haaland, and he leapt for joy.

In truth, each of the City players who contributed in the second half would have been worthy of a special reception from the travelling fans.

This is, we can already say, a game that will be beloved by the City support for a very long time. The ‘10-men derby’, perhaps, given the visiting side rallied after Phil Foden’s 23rd-minute red card to earn a victory that was even more controversial still, given Haaland’s winner that was awarded after a lengthy VAR check which concluded that Fernandez, in an offside position, did not interfere with play as he dived in to convert Josko Gvardiol’s cross before Haaland steered it home. Pro Ref later admitted an error was made in the process of awarding the goal and that an on-pitch review should have taken place.

It is a victory that will do wonders for a dressing room that has only been pieced together in the last few weeks. Pep Guardiola spent much of last season, having overseen a similar overhaul, ensuring that his players built a bond by celebrating the little wins, let alone the big ones. He has gone, as have many of those players, in fact, but this victory at Old Trafford might just bring everything together ahead of schedule.

Haaland, who now has nine goals in eight matches against Manchester United in the Premier League, could not wipe the smile off his face as he did his post-match interviews on the pitch, and took a selfie on the Old Trafford turf for the club’s social media accounts. Even CEO Ferran Soriano took a presumably celebratory selfie in the tunnel, as he and director of football Hugo Viana hung around outside the sanctity of the dressing room.

The music blared out while the City players danced. It was clearly audible in the tunnel as the players and managers from both sides fulfilled their media duties.

In truth, each of the City players is worthy of special credit. Maresca would surely not have wasted any training ground time on preparing for having a man sent off — given he would rather focus on establishing his side’s identity rather than give additional focus to, say, set pieces — but they often looked comfortable despite their numerical disadvantage. That said, United were wasteful in the extreme.

When Foden was sent off for kicking out at Bruno Fernandes, who had kicked the City man in the back initially only to escape punishment, it looked like this would be another bruising derby. City had only won once at the home of their rivals in the past four visits, having become used to turning up and handing out a drubbing for the bulk of the Guardiola era. The 2-0 defeat here in January was a real low point, and it looked like another was on the way.

Maresca, his coaches and his players were incensed by the red card. The Italian was booked on the stroke of half-time for protesting about a decision, but in reality it was a release of the frustration that he had been harbouring for over 20 minutes. Foden, left in the dressing room with a coach for the rest of the first half, would have been disconsolate. By the end, he was jumping up and down in the dressing room with the rest of his team-mates. He was later filmed leaving the ground, holding up his fingers to fans to demonstrate his team had won 1-0.

@theeyetest_ Phil foden thinks he has jokes trying to troll Manchester United fans leaving old Trafford! #philfoden #theeyetest #manchestercity #manchesterunited #oldtrafford ♬ son original – 𝘿𝙕_𝙁𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙀𝙙𝙞𝙩🇩🇿

Later, Maresca accepted the red. “After the red card, the plan changed completely. The spirit, effort, togetherness of the players has been fantastic. I think it was a red card (for Foden), to be honest, but also in the same action for Bruno, not just for us.”

Maresca, too, was letting his jovial side pour out. “How do you say in English? Happy wife, happy life? For us, happy Erling, happy life,” he said with a beaming smile at his press conference, having already conducted countless media duties. “My wife will be upset with me for that one.”

It is a little detail that will endear him to City fans, who had come to love Guardiola and his press conference snippets so much. Maresca is not known for his vivaciousness in front of the cameras, but behind the scenes at City, even around his players, he has quickly earned himself a reputation for being easy-going (at the right time), warm and even funny.

The more that creeps out, the better it will be for him, but in truth, as long as he keeps delivering victories and memories like this, he will be fine. Nobody knows which way things will go from here, but he will always be remembered, if for nothing else, as the man who masterminded a beloved victory that will rival Roberto Mancini’s 6-1, Manuel Pellegrini’s 3-0 or the handful of masterclasses that Guardiola dished out.

Ndiaye, who was an extremely useful outlet for City on the left-hand side, was readied for action as early as the 30th minute, but was not brought on until half-time. The optics of bringing off Rayan Cherki after half an hour, let alone the potential reaction from the enigmatic Frenchman, may have ensured that it was a decision best left until the break.

Cherki was not seen when the players celebrated in the corner at the final whistle on Sunday, and had said after his leading role at Crystal Palace a fortnight ago that Maresca considered bringing him off at half-time at Selhurst Park, only for him to plead for five minutes more to show his worth — and he did so, with two fantastic goals.

There was no reprieve on Sunday, as Maresca acted decisively. Ndiaye was sent on and stretched United on the right, as Antoine Semenyo was to do on the left. Haaland, who had looked ineffective in the first half, got himself more involved, showing for passes both short and long, and put up a fight — and he did all of it, with his wide men playing their part.

Still, though, City could not have done what they did without a great deal of grit and street smarts elsewhere. They took their time on throw-ins and goal kicks from the start of the second half, waiting for Oliver to get well into his five-second countdown.

Enzo Fernandez and team-mates after the final whistle (Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Elliot Anderson, as he has done in every game so far, put out fires all over the pitch. Fernandez, on occasion, started some — he went down holding his face after winning a cherished free kick on the right (which almost led to City’s second), and he tangled with Harry Maguire after trying to win a penalty. Aside from some Kobbie Mainoo scheming, City rarely looked a man down.

Maresca’s backline, when called upon, was impeccable. Marc Guehi always seemed to be on hand to cut out a pass, or head clear a cross; Matheus Nunes stepped in to win the ball and did his best to move it up the pitch; Gvardiol was always switched on, and set up the disputed winner. Dias was doing his best to hold it all together, but when Fernandes slipped in Bryan Mbeumo in the 94th minute, it came down to Gianluigi Donnarumma to make a vital save, one that ensured that everything beforehand will not go to waste.

Haaland was full of praise for all of his team-mates after full-time. He told beIN Sports: “The personality we showed when we were 10 men, we kept the ball for the first five minutes after we got the red card. This is what you have to do. Of course you would like to play a bit more, but it’s difficult with 10 men.

“I still think the way we ran, the way that people came in… Ndiaye, when he came in, he looked a little bit like Neymar a few times there. He was amazing. Elliot in the middle was like a dog, just smashing people and fighting, Enzo as well. We are lucky to have this. When Gigio makes these saves, as we expect him to, I’ve played against him a few times and trained against him almost every day. It’s difficult to train against him and it makes it easier in the games, let’s be honest.”

While Maresca accepted Foden’s red, he insisted that City’s goal was “clearly” onside. He was Guardiola’s assistant when United were awarded an even more controversial goal in 2023, so he would probably not feel too bad about it, even if he thought Fernandez was involved in the winner.

“It’s a special game for everyone; the fans, the club and the manager, but this is not the moment when I’m thinking about myself. I’m thinking about the team and an unbelievable three points.”