Maresca defends VAR officials after Man City benefit from error

• Erling Haaland scored a controversial winner in the 60th minute at Old Trafford on Sunday to make it four wins out of four for City in the Premier League.

Manchester City's Italian manager Enzo Maresca reacts during the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on September 13, 2026. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)

Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca on Wednesday expressed sympathy for VAR officials after his team benefited from a clear error in their 1-0 win against Manchester United.

Erling Haaland scored a controversial winner in the 60th minute at Old Trafford on Sunday to make it four wins out of four for City in the Premier League.

Haaland was initially flagged offside but VAR ruled he was being played onside by United defender Patrick Dorgu, neglecting to take account of the position of Enzo Fernandez, who was clearly offside and was interfering with play.

Refereeing body Pro Ref acknowledged an "error of judgment", saying that the video assistant referee should have recommended an on-field review.

But Maresca spoke up for the officials ahead of Thursday's League Cup third round match against Championship side Norwich.

"Sometimes they go for you, the decisions, sometimes they go against you," he said. "But also it's not easy, I think, for the VAR, for the people that are in front of the screen, and in 10 seconds, 20 seconds they have to make a decision.

"It's not easy for them. Sometimes they make some mistakes. I make mistakes, players make mistakes, I think it's part of our job."

Maresca said he was unhappy with the intense focus on the offside goal following an impressive win for his team, who were reduced to 10 men when Phil Foden was sent off in the first half.

The Italian, who replaced Pep Guardiola as manager in June, reminded reporters of a controversial incident when he was Guardiola's assistant in the 2022/23 season.

Bruno Fernandes's goal was given despite the presence of Marcus Rashford in an offside position in a 2-1 win for United at Old Trafford.

Maresca said he was still waiting for officials to say sorry.

"Three years ago, when I was here, it happened exactly the same against Man United," said the former Chelsea boss.

"We lost the derby there. The goal was not a regular goal, if you remember. To be honest, no one apologised. We are still waiting for the apology for that goal.

"Sometimes it happens for you, sometimes it happens against you. It's football."

Maresca brushed aside a question on whether he was pleased there would be no VAR in place in the early rounds of the League Cup, bringing the focus back to Sunday's win.

"I'm pleased with the unbelievable performance from the players on Sunday," he said. "I'm very pleased with that. Talking about one moment after that game, when we played for 70-75 minutes with 10 players, I think it's quite poor. I think the performance was unbelievable."