English press condemns Haaland goal and criticises United in the derby

Manchester City's 0‑1 victory at Old Trafford raises the pressure on Manchester United even higher, especially now that Phil Foden was sent off with a red card after just 23 minutes and Erling Haaland's winning strike is under fire from the English press.

Controversial decisions in the Derby

The Guardian described the Manchester Derby as a match decided by two contentious decisions. First, Phil Foden was shown a red card after he kicked Bruno Fernandes, the Portuguese, in the stomach, while Fernandes also made contact. Then Haaland's winning goal was approved, despite a clear shortcoming of the VAR.

Later the arbitration body confirmed that Haaland's goal should not have counted. Pro Ref contacted Manchester United and called it a judgment error. The VAR should have sent referee Michael Oliver to the screen, because Enzo Fernández was offside and the Argentine did not touch the ball. Wayne Rooney and Danny Murphy called it 'bizarre' that the goal was confirmed. Haaland himself was not offside, but Enzo Fernández was; the Argentine leapt for the cross and forced Lisandro Martínez to react. Because of this contact the referee should have intervened.

Beautiful defence and critical analysis of United

The English press praised the defensive unit of the Citizens, with Gianluigi Donnarumma, Matheus Nunes, Marc Guehi, Rúben Dias and Josko Gvardiol being described by The Athletic as 'impeccable'. Guehi was always in the right place, Nunes collected virtually every ball, Gvardiol delivered the key pass and Donnarumma made a save in the 94th minute that could be seen as save of the month.

The Guardian focused critically on Manchester United, who played with a man advantage for more than an hour but created hardly any chances. The attack was described by the outlet as too static and slow, preventing the low block of City from being broken. The Athletic confirmed this assessment.

Michael Carrick's substitution policy also drew heavy criticism. By substituting Youri Tielemans, the balance disappeared, while Matheus Cunha, a weak option, remained on the pitch at the expense of the stronger Marcus Rashford. The choice of Joshua Zirkzee, according to the outlet, highlighted the quality gap between the two squads.