Enzo Maresca defends Manchester City display after Manchester Derby VAR controversy

Enzo Maresca believes Manchester City’s performance against Manchester United has been unfairly overshadowed by the VAR controversy surrounding Erling Haaland’s winning goal.

City secured a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford despite playing most of the Manchester derby with 10 men following Phil Foden’s 23rd-minute red card.

Haaland eventually scored the only goal on the hour mark, but the decision to award it has dominated the discussion since Sunday.

The goal was initially disallowed before VAR intervened. While Haaland was found to be onside, officials failed to properly assess Enzo Fernandez, who was in an offside position and attempted to play the ball before Haaland scored.

The refereeing body subsequently acknowledged that the goal should not have been awarded.

For Maresca, however, concentrating almost entirely on that incident ignores what his team achieved with 10 players.

Speaking ahead of Manchester City’s Carabao Cup meeting with Norwich City, Maresca described the attention given to the controversial goal as “quite poor”.

The Italian was far more interested in discussing how his players responded after losing Foden so early in the game.

City had to operate with 10 men for around 70 minutes at Old Trafford but still managed to leave with all three points.

Maresca described the performance as “unbelievable” and insisted he was extremely pleased with what he saw from his team.

He also accepted that an officiating mistake had been made.

Rather than continue debating the decision, though, Maresca argued that incorrect calls can benefit or hurt teams at different moments during a season.

The Manchester City manager also referenced a controversial incident from a previous derby in January 2023, when he was working as part of Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff.

United won that match 2-1, with Bruno Fernandes scoring an equaliser after Marcus Rashford had been in an offside position during the move.

Maresca argued that City did not receive an apology on that occasion and joked that the club are “still waiting” for one.

His comments came after Pro Ref chief Howard Webb publicly addressed the latest derby controversy.

Webb admitted officials had fallen short by becoming too focused on whether Haaland himself was onside.

According to Webb, VAR checked whether Fernandez touched the ball but failed to properly evaluate the effect his offside position had on United’s defenders.

Maresca will now want the debate surrounding the Manchester derby to move on as City prepare for another competition.

Manchester City host Norwich City in the Carabao Cup third round on Thursday before returning to Premier League action against Sunderland on Sunday.

With City having won their opening four league matches, Maresca will be hoping the discussion quickly returns to what his team are producing on the pitch rather than the controversial decision at Old Trafford.

Manchester City host Norwich City on Thursday at 19:30 BST in the Carabao Cup third round. Maresca could use the fixture to rotate his squad after the physical demands of playing most of Sunday’s derby with 10 men.

City then return to Premier League action against Sunderland on Sunday, September 20, as Maresca looks to maintain their perfect start to the league campaign.