Man Utd were handed a golden opportunity to beat Manchester City but a flat performance is cause for concern and continued a slow start to the season.
Manchester United failed to make their man advantage count on derby day
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Eight months ago, everything Michael Carrick touched turned to gold. Bryan Mbeumo up front instead of Benjamin Sesko? Patrick Dorgu at left-wing? Both decisions were justified on a derby day to remember.
It is the lot of a head coach that your every call will be scrutinised and dissected. When they go well, as they did in his first game in charge back in January, you will be lauded. Sesko had scored three goals in two games before then, but nobody was crying out for the Slovenian as a slick Manchester United beat Manchester City.
It was the start of a run that landed Carrick the job on a permanent basis, but suddenly the scrutiny is back on the 45-year-old and the same two characters were arguably central to two calls that went wrong in a defeat that feels particularly damaging. A week ago he shot down the idea that United had had a disappointing start. There is no avoiding the reality now. The pressure is on.
It's not all down to Carrick. He would be right to call out Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox, and their Ineos paymasters, of the failure to sign him a left-back this summer. While Manchester City act like one of the world's biggest football clubs, United are trying to rebuild on a budget.
That will leave holes that can't be filled. While City could leave an £85million midfielder on the bench, United's back-up left-back is a winger. Dorgu shone under Carrick last season but he's now been on it this term and on the evidence of this week, he can't continue to fill in for Luke Shaw, who has confirmed the worst fears over his injury record before the first international break of the season.
Carrick does at least have options in attack. It felt inevitable that he would return to his false nine system here, despite Sesko's recent efforts. It was another move that backfired. Of United's first 15 shots, 10 of them were from outside the box and an xG tally of 0.54 showed how unlikely it was that any of them would get past Gianluigi Donnarumma.
The Italian was finally forced into a good save in the 95th minute, when Bruno Fernandes found Bryan Mbeumo in space. It had taken too long for United to create a high-value chance and the predictable nature of their attack and the decision to go without a focal point backfired.
There is too much of a reliance on Fernandes to spark this side into life, but until that pass to Mbeumo, his biggest contribution had been teasing Phil Foden into seeing the red mist that earned him a red card.
But the game slowed down then and United were guilty. They controlled possession but the sight of Carrick waving his players forward as Kobbie Mainoo and Youri Tielemans dropped on top of the centre-backs showed that he felt the game was stagnating.
That is always the danger of playing against 10 men. They are keen to slow the tempo down and you can be sucked into playing the same kind of game. That was even more pressing for United, with Carrick again opting for a fluid front three.
There was no shortage of movement. Before the sending off, Matheus Cunha had dropped so deep he was getting the ball off Harry Maguire, while Marcus Rashford drifted across to the right to combine with Mbeumo, who also had a spell through the middle.
But it felt off the cuff and while that kind of freestyling can sometimes work, it's harder to do when the opposition have decided to sit deep and close the space between the lines. Rashford's pace became United's best weapon, but his final ball was off, aside from striking the outside of the post with a 25-yard free-kick.
The woodwork was starting to frustrate United. They couldn't punch a hole in the City defence from close range, but Mainoo tried his luck from a similar distance and this time hit the inside of the post.
Mainoo's influence was starting to grow in the second half. He immediately won the ball back inside the City half, then spun away superbly from Elliot Anderson, the man who started ahead of him in the England midfield this summer. The pirouette left Anderson on the deck and it should have left Thomas Tuchel, watching on from the directors' box, in a spin as well.
At that point, it had been half an hour since City had had a shot, but their sporadic attacks carried more threat and there was a vulnerability about United's defence that wasn't matched at the other end. Both of those issues came into play for Haaland's goal.
It had been a surprise to see Dorgu keep his place, having struggled defensively against Sabah, and his wayward defensive header sparked a City attack. Dorgu then ended up in a poor position, marooned on the right. Not only did he play Haaland onside, but the Norwegian had found the space the left-back had vacated.
The VAR review to confirm the goal took an age, and United were right to feel aggrieved that it was given. Enzo Fernandez had thrown his head at the ball in the centre, causing Senne Lammens to slide onto his knees expecting an effort at goal, so when the ball went through to Haaland, the United goalkeeper was out of position.
City now had even more reason to sit deep and United's efforts became increasingly desperate. Enzo Maresca danced on the touchline at the full-time whistle, while Carrick was left to stroke his chin in disbelief. He needs to find answers to the first major test of his Old Trafford reign.