There were plenty of talking points as Manchester City earned a 1-0 derby win at Old Trafford. Re-live this Premier League game with our Man Utd vs Man City stats page.
Erling Haaland‘s controversially awarded goal saw 10-man Manchester City edge out Manchester United in a tense and fiery derby at Old Trafford.
The odds were stacked against Man City when Phil Foden saw red for kicking out at Bruno Fernandes in the 23rd minute.
Yet, on the hour mark, Haaland steered in at the back post from Josko Gvardiol‘s deflected cross.
The goal was initially disallowed for offside, but after a VAR review, it was awarded, with Haaland having stayed onside. United, though, will be pointing to Enzo Fernández having been ahead of the play as he attempted to meet the delivery.
Gianluigi Donnarumma came to the fore late on, making a sublime save from Bryan Mbeumo to make it four wins from four Premier League games for City under Enzo Maresca.
Sunday’s drama started midway through the first half.
Fernandes kicked Foden while the latter was on the turf, but the City playmaker reacted rashly and lashed out, with referee Michael Oliver reaching for a red card.
Yet United could not craft an opportunity until the cusp of half-time, when Marcus Rashford‘s free-kick hit the left-hand upright.
United were denied by the woodwork again early in the second half, as Kobbie Mainoo‘s strike from range hit the post.
But then, City’s breakthrough arrived.
Gvardiol’s cross flashed across the box to Haaland, who expertly finished on the stretch, and though the offside flag initially cut short City’s celebrations, they were revived after the VAR call, much to United’s anger.
Senne Lammens tipped a Fernández strike onto the post, and United could have made that save count in stoppage time. Donnarumma, though, somehow kept out Mbeumo’s close-range effort.
Derby Drama, City Left Delighted
Maresca said Foden was going into the derby with extra motivation, given his local roots, but the 26-year-old just let his temper get the better of him after being riled up by Fernandes.
Foden became only the second City player to be sent off against United in the Premier League, after Bernardo Corradi in 2006.
However, from then on, City were excellent. They may have rode their luck with the two long-range attempts that hit the post, but otherwise, United created nothing of note until Mbuemo’s late chance.
Indeed, United managed just two shots on target after the red card.
City, on the other hand, were clinical. Haaland’s goal came from one of their two shots from inside the box, while the Norway forward had only two touches inside United’s area.
Haaland is now the top scorer in Premier League games between these local rivals.
Maresca also has to take immense credit. He got his tactics spot on, and the half-time introduction of Iliman Ndiaye proved a masterstroke.
Ndiaye’s work rate in defence, combined with his ball-carrying ability, was vital in getting City up the field.
In fact, Ndiaye is the first City substitute on record (since 2003-04) to attempt 5+ dribbles (six) and win 5+ fouls (five) in a Premier League game, and first overall in the competition since Huddersfield Town’s Rajiv van La Parra in October 2017, also against Manchester United.
It has been a superb start for Maresca in the post-Pep Guardiola era, and a win at Old Trafford is perfect to keep the positive momentum going. City have won their opening four games in three of the last four Premier League seasons, with Liverpool in 2025-26 and Arsenal this season the only other teams to do so once in that period.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Man Utd vs Man City stats from their Premier League meeting at Old Trafford on Sunday 13 September 2026.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Man Utd vs Man City: Selected Post-Match Opta Facts
- Manchester City’s Erling Haaland is now the outright top goalscorer in Premier League Manchester derbies (9 goals), surpassing Sergio Agüero and Wayne Rooney (8).
- This is the second earliest into a Premier League game that they went on to win that Manchester City have had a player sent off (22:23), behind only Vincent Kompany’s 10th minute dismissal against Hull in March 2014 (won 2-0).
- 50 teams have received a red card as the visiting team at Old Trafford in the Premier League, but only two have won: Everton in November 2025 (13th minute, won 1-0) and Manchester City today (23rd minute, won 1-0).
- Manchester City are the first visiting side to win 10 times against Manchester United in the Premier League at Old Trafford – across the last 11 seasons (since 2016-17), no English top-flight fixture has seen more away wins than the Manchester derby (10).
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