Man Utd suffered a 1-0 defeat to Man City in the Manchester derby, a game in which two VAR decisions were decisive.
United lost 1-0 vs City despite having a man advantage for most of the game.
United lost 1-0 vs City despite having a man advantage for most of the game.
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When Erling Haaland's goal against Manchester United was confirmed, the Manchester City analyst team congratulated a staff member who appeared to predict the goal would stand.
The goal seemed certain to be ruled out for offside, judging from the initial replays, but the strike was finally approved after a lengthy VAR review, which had almost everyone within Old Trafford perplexed.
The City analyst who predicted the goal would stand was congratulated with high fives from overjoyed colleagues. They were perhaps the only people in the stadium who thought the goal would stand.
The goal stood because Patrick Dorgu's foot played Haaland onside. VAR looked at whether it had touched Enzo Fernandez on the way through, which it hadn't.
City intelligently saw out a 1-0 victory with 10 men at Old Trafford. Michael Carrick will rue an opportunity to claim his second win in the Manchester derby, which would have launched United's campaign after an underwhelming start.
The game was a story of two VAR decisions. Phil Foden's sending off gave United a huge advantage with 70 minutes remaining, but the Reds could not make the most of having an extra body for most of the game.
Although City's coaching staff protested the sending off, Bruno Fernandes demonstrated his craftiness by teasing Foden into a reaction. Foden was sucked in and took the bait, resulting in him receiving his marching orders for violent conduct.
Fernandes showed the kind of guile that only the most experienced professionals possess. The dark arts are part of the game, and VAR stood by the on-field decision after a review of the incident.
The best piece of business United did in the summer was ensuring that Fernandes remained at Old Trafford.
It could be argued that United's second-best piece of business of the summer was welcoming Marcus Rashford back into the squad. Fernandes had a hand in gaining United a man advantage in the Manchester derby, but it was Rashford who looked like the most dangerous player on the pitch.
There was audible excitement when Rashford picked up the ball. Thousands rose to their feet as he burst down the right in the first half, and the crowd roared in appreciation as Antoine Semenyo brought him down.
There was further applause from the terraces when Rashford struck the post from a free-kick. City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was sent scrambling across his goal line and slumped in relief to see it go wide.
The irony is that United wanted to offload Rashford to Barcelona after his season-long loan at the Nou Camp. Barcelona opted against exercising their £26million option to sign Rashford on a permanent transfer, which didn't go down well with United chiefs who wanted him off the wage bill.
United wanted to cash in on Rashford and avoid the inevitable noise that his reintroduction would create, but it now seems Barcelona's decision to overlook the forward has worked in the Reds' favour.
It looked like Fernandes and Rashford would spearhead a United derby victory after Foden's sending off, but the red shirts could not respond to Haaland's suckerpunch, getting dragged into needless clashes with blue shirts.
Tensions are bound to hit fever pitch in the Manchester derby, but United were not composed enough following Haaland's goal, with City's players deploying the kind of dark arts that Fernandes used earlier in the game.
Enzo Fernandez pulled Harry Maguire into a spat, while Kobbie Mainoo, who controlled the midfield for large parts of the contest, was drawn into making fouls in areas where he wouldn't usually make mistakes.
The City analysts lapped up their players' savvy game management in the final 10 minutes of the game, although Enzo Maresca did not look as confident, nervously crouching as United attacked the Stretford End.
There was no need for Maresca to be nervous. Before added time when Bryan Mbeumo should have scored, United had recorded two shots on target, had 15 shots in total and had an xG of just 0.54 - not good enough for a team that had a man advantage for most of the game.
There were further high fives between the City analysts at the full-time whistle. United's analyst team won't enjoy watching the game back on Monday.