'It's An Injustice' - Lisandro Martínez Slams Controversial VAR Decision Vs Man City
· Yahoo Sports
Manchester United were beaten 1-0 by Manchester City at Old Trafford, suffering their second defeat of the 2026/27 Premier League season. United were handed a major advantage after just 22 minutes when Phil Foden was shown a red card for kicking out at Bruno Fernandes, but despite having an extra man for the remainder of the half, they could not find a breakthrough before the interval.
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United continued to press after the restart, enjoying the majority of possession and producing more attempts than City's 10 men. However, their pressure failed to translate into clear-cut opportunities, and it was the visitors who eventually broke the deadlock on the hour mark. Erling Haaland's opener sparked plenty of debate, with the striker appearing to be offside, but a lengthy VAR review concluded that Patrick Dorgu's outstretched boot had played him onside.
The controversy didn't end there, with Enzo Fernandez also involved in the build-up while offside. The midfielder tried to meet the ball with a diving header, seemingly impacting both Lisandro Martínez and Senne Lammens as they tried to deal with the situation. Under the offside laws, a player can be penalised for making an obvious action that affects an opponent's ability to play the ball, but VAR ultimately allowed the goal to stand.
United struggled to find an equaliser in the closing stages and couldn't seriously test City until deep into stoppage time. Bryan Mbeumo came closest to rescuing a point when he fired from close range, only for Gianluigi Donnarumma to produce an excellent save. City held on to secure all three points, leaving United to reflect on a costly missed opportunity against a side that played with 10 men for more than an hour.
Lisandro Martínez reacts to Man City's controversial goalLooking back at replays of Erling Haaland's controversial goal, you can see Martínez choose to run to Enzo Fernandez, rather than Haaland, leaving the Norwegian forward unmarked at the back post, and was able to finish past Lammens.
Despite the official offside rules indicating that a player will be penalised if they are clearly attempting to play a ball which is close when the actions impacts on an opponent, or make an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball- both of which Enzo Fernandez did, the goal, rather surprisingly, ultimately stood and United were unable to find a response to City's goal.
Speaking after the game, the Argentinian centre-back expressed his frustration at VAR's decision, expressing how it's a constant issue with the referees.
"What I don't understand is the rules.
"I went to him, he was there, he was in front of me."
"Every season, they come to explain their rules, and then they make that kind of mistake. It's an injustice."
Man Utd 0-1 Man City: Five Things Learned As Controversial Haaland Goal The Difference Maker (Premier League)A resilient 10-man City silenced Old Trafford after VAR validated Erling Haaland’s disputed strike, leaving Michael Carrick’s side to rue wasted opportunities and a toothless attacking display.Man Utd didn't do enough to deserve a winManchester United can certainly feel hard done by, given the nature of the goal they conceded against their bitter rivals, but you can't help but feel that United could have done a lot more against City on the day to breach their defence.
On paper, the red card in the 23rd minute should have been a major advantage for Man Utd, but it could have contributed to United's loss, as the game changed drastically for both sides.
We saw how dangerous United were in transition last season against sides like Liverpool, Man City and Arsenal, but Enzo Maresca's side being reduced to ten men forced City to drop deeper, leaving less space behind for United to exploit and reducing their most dangerous threat going forward.
Other than that, United created next to no big chances in the game, as, apart from Mbeumo's good chance in the 95th minute, a Marcus Rashford free-kick off the post, and Kobbie Mainoo's strike off the woodwork were the only chances United could create as their attacking play was sloppy.