Maresca unhappy with attention on controversial Haaland goal in Manchester derby
By Joel Masibo, September 16, 2026Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca believes too much attention has been placed on Erling Haaland’s disputed winner rather than his side’s performance in Sunday’s, September 13, 2026 Manchester derby.
City claimed a 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford, with Haaland scoring after 60 minutes following a VAR intervention.
The visitors had been reduced to 10 men in the first half after Phil Foden was shown a red card, forcing City to spend most of the match playing with a numerical disadvantage.
Dominating discussions
However, the controversy surrounding the winning goal has dominated discussion since the final whistle.
Maresca, speaking ahead of City’s Carabao Cup meeting with Norwich City, expressed frustration that the wider performance had been overshadowed by one incident.
“Talking about one episode or one moment after that game when we played for 70- 75 minutes with 10 players, I think it’s quite poor,” Maresca said.
“I think the performance was unbelievable, and I’m pleased with the performance.”
Haaland’s effort was initially ruled out for offside by referee Michael Oliver, but the decision was overturned following a VAR review after it was determined that the striker had remained onside.
Further examination, however, showed that Enzo Fernandez was in an offside position while attempting to play the ball and was considered to have interfered with the opponents.
The refereeing body later acknowledged that the officials had made an error by failing to take Fernandez’s position into account.
Maresca accepted the decision but suggested such mistakes are part of football.
“There is knowledge that there was a mistake and that’s all. Sometimes it goes for you, sometimes against you. It’s football,” the Italian said.
The City boss also pointed to a previous incident involving Manchester United which he believes was similarly damaging to his club.
Maresca was working as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at City when United benefited from a disputed goal during their 2-1 win in January 2023.
“Three years ago when I was here [as Guardiola’s assistant], it happened the exact same against United,” he said.
“The goal was not a regular goal and no one apologised. We are still waiting for the apology for that.”
VAR review failure
Professional Game Match Officials Limited chief Howard Webb has since explained how the VAR review failed to fully examine Fernandez’s involvement in the build-up.
“I was really disappointed with this outcome. We all are,” said Webb on ‘Match Officials Mic’d Up’.
“None more so than the officials themselves. They take a lot of personal pride in what they do and they’re obviously hurting now, having fallen short in this situation.”
According to Webb, the VAR concentrated primarily on whether Haaland himself was offside rather than assessing the complete situation involving Fernandez.
“The VAR gets super-focused on Haaland,” said Webb. “He establishes he’s onside, he thinks that’s a good goal.
“He doesn’t truly evaluate the full impact of Fernandez’s position. He has a look to see if he touches the ball, because then that relates to potentially knocking it to Haaland, who goes on to score.”
United had threatened to take the lead before Haaland’s goal, with the hosts hitting the woodwork on either side of half-time.
City’s victory was nevertheless their fourth consecutive Premier League win, despite Foden’s dismissal.
Maresca’s side will now switch their attention to the Carabao Cup, with Norwich visiting City on Thursday before the Premier League campaign resumes against Sunderland on 20 September.