MANCHESTER — Manchester City delivered a statement 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday despite playing with 10 men from the 23rd minute, as Erling Haaland's controversial winner decided the derby after Phil Foden's early red card.
The sending-off, described as the right decision, halted United's early momentum when Michael Carrick's side had pinned City back and looked bright through Marcus Rashford. City then defended for most of the match, with Haaland's goal standing despite claims Enzo Fernandez impacted play from an offside position — a decision the refereeing body later admitted was a judgement error — and with Gianluigi Donnarumma preserving the lead with a late save from Bryan Mbeumo.
Enzo Maresca, in his first Manchester derby as City manager, made only one change in the first 80 minutes, replacing Rayan Cherki with Iliman Ndiaye at half-time. The move proved decisive. Ndiaye offered greater defensive cover than Cherki while also carrying the ball, beating defenders, winning free-kicks and providing the outlet City needed, and he was involved in the winning goal. Antoine Semenyo and Haaland also held the ball effectively under pressure further up the field.
United struggled to turn possession into clear chances. Rashford hit the post with a free-kick before the break and Kobbie Mainoo struck the post from distance in the second half, but Carrick's side did not create a clear-cut opportunity until Donnarumma's late stop. Decision-making in the final third was poor, with shots from difficult angles and crosses lacking numbers in the box. Carrick made two substitutions, replacing Youri Tielemans with Benjamin Sesko after 67 minutes and bringing on Joshua Zirkzee for Rashford after 83 minutes, though the analysis suggested Rashford should have stayed on ahead of Matheus Cunha and Sesko could have been introduced earlier.
BBC Sport columnist Danny Murphy said the result showed City's mentality, discipline, organisation and energy, noting they were comfortable without the ball despite usually dominating possession. He credited leadership and communication from players and manager, and contrasted Maresca's brave, attacking substitution with negative changes he made when his Chelsea side went down to 10 men early at Old Trafford last season and lost. Murphy added United looked tired despite having an extra man, possibly influenced by playing on Thursday while City played in the Champions League on Tuesday, and lacked the know-how to break City down.