Man Utd 0-1 Man City (Foden red card 23′, Haaland 60′)
OLD TRAFFORD — In terms of era determination, this was as important a Manchester derby as we have had in a decade.
Back in 2016, a fresh-faced Pep Guardiola was pitted against his old adversary Jose Mourinho in England, knowing that asserting power in Manchester is as important to supporters as any league title.
A comfortable 2-1 win at Old Trafford set the tone for the dominance that was to come from Guardiola’s side. And if you can keep United operating in the shadows, then trophy-laden supremacy is sure to follow.
Back then, while United were beginning their steady fall from grace, the Sir Alex Ferguson glory years were still fresh in the memory, so their place as kings of Manchester, albeit insecurely, was still intact.
#MUNMCI – 59’ VAR OVERTURNVAR 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, 2026Michael Carrick faced the task that Guardiola was presented with on Sunday, in the first non-Pep derby in that time, given how the roles have completely reversed since. And in his lack of bravery over team selection and in-game inflexibility, he blew his golden chance to prove the naysayers, who believe he is out of his depth at this level, wrong.
There was angst in the air ahead of kick-off as hundreds of United supporters gathered for an angry protest against the current ownership. Perhaps the most impactful act came inside the ground. In front of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the lesser spotted Glazer brothers Joel and Avram, the Stretford End, normally awash with flags and banners, was empty, other than one, hard-hitting riposte: “The way you treat us is a disgrace”.
As has been the hope among the powers that be every time the ownership get a strategic call wrong, it was on the players to quickly shift the mood. Phil Foden provided the hosts with an almighty leg-up, falling for Bruno Fernandes’ attempts to get under his skin, kicking out at the United skipper and becoming only the second City player to be sent off in the Premier League against their great rivals.
You would have needed an abacus to realise either side was down to 10 men, however, with United unable to make their numerical superiority count.
Refereeing decisions nonetheless remained front and centre of the action. Even as Erling Haaland wheeled away to celebrate firing home on the hour mark, he barely mustered a smile, feeling, as all true strikers sense, that he was offside. All of which made City’s celebrations more euphoric as the goal was given after a VAR review, Patrick Dorgu’s foot adjudged to have kept Haaland onside.
Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Marcus Rashford were getting nowhere up front before the opener and even less so after it, with space closed up. And yet, no changes were forthcoming.
Benjamin Sesko should have started the game. In two substitute appearances so far, he is the club’s top goalscorer, but it is the ability to actually give defenders something to think about that makes the Slovenian such a weapon of choice.
Cunha, for all his talent, is not a false nine. To get almost a full game against 10-man City and offer so little is inexcusable, and a damning indictment on a manager who refused to budge.
Sesko was introduced too late, in the 67th minute, and not for Cunha or the equally ineffective Mbeumo, but for Youri Tielemans, thus shifting Fernandes, a player light years ahead of anyone else in terms of creativity, back into a deeper, unfamiliar position.
The famous Clive Tyldesley line lingers in United supporters’ heads whenever they go behind. Except, these days, they don’t always score.
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Special report: How Ineos finally broke Man Utd fans’ trust Julian Taylor: Tottenham are nowhere near £350m better offCarrick’s record since taking over from Ruben Amorim at the start of the year is impressive, but it is in these moments the top managers come to the fore. Enzo Maresca was making changes at half-time, as it wasn’t working. Carrick should have been thinking the same.
Four points from four games is exactly the start the United hierarchy didn’t need, after taking the risk in backing Carrick for the next two years.
As many predicted, Carrick was left staring at a City away end “Poznan”, as the chasm between the two rivals remains as wide as ever.
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