Maresca Critiques VAR Focus After Haaland's Derby Winner
Enzo Maresca bristled at the idea that a single freeze-frame has come to define a derby his Manchester City side dominated with 10 men.
The Italian called it “quite poor” that the storm around Erling Haaland’s winner at Old Trafford has drowned out what he felt was one of his team’s standout displays of the season.
Maresca fumes at narrative around Haaland winner
Haaland struck on the hour to seal a 1-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday, a fourth successive league victory for City. The goal, initially ruled out for offside, was awarded after a VAR check showed the Norwegian onside.
City had been down to 10 men for the majority of the game after Phil Foden’s red card, yet still found a way to control long spells of the derby and leave Old Trafford with all three points.
By Monday morning, though, the focus had shifted. The Premier League’s refereeing body confirmed the VAR team had made an error: they failed to penalise Enzo Fernandez for an offside offence as he dived towards the ball in a central position, interfering with opponents before Haaland scored.
For Maresca, the reaction has missed the point.
“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,” he said ahead of Thursday’s Carabao Cup third-round tie against Norwich City.
“I think the performance was unbelievable, and I’m pleased with the performance.”
‘Sometimes it goes for you, sometimes against you’
The admission of error has reignited the wider debate around VAR, but Maresca refused to let it consume him. He acknowledged the mistake, then quickly widened the lens.
“There is knowledge that there was a mistake and that’s all. Sometimes it goes for you, sometimes against you. It’s football,” he said.
Maresca, who replaced Pep Guardiola in the summer after previously working as his assistant, pointed to City’s own history of feeling aggrieved in this fixture. He highlighted a 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford in January 2023 as a moment when, in his view, the technology hurt City rather than helped them.
“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.”
The message was clear: City have lived on the wrong side of these calls before, and no one rewrote the story of those games around officiating errors.
Webb: ‘We’ve fallen short’
This time, the apology has arrived from the top of the refereeing structure. Pro Ref’s chief Howard Webb admitted on ‘Match Officials Mic’d Up’ that the VAR team failed in its basic duty on Haaland’s goal.
“I was really disappointed with this outcome. We all are,” Webb said. “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.”
His words will do little to change the record books. Haaland’s goal stands. City’s win stands. So does Maresca’s conviction that the lasting image of this derby should not be a still shot of an offside line, but a team in sky blue running Old Trafford with a man fewer and a manager who has no intention of letting that be forgotten.
