Man City Boss Maresca Shifts Focus To Norwich After VAR Controversy

Maresca defends VAR officials after Man City benefit from derby error

Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca has defended VAR officials after his side benefited from a clear error in their 1-0 derby win over Manchester United, with refereeing body PGMOL admitting an “error of judgement” over Erling Haaland's controversial winner at Old Trafford.

Enzo Maresca unhappy with focus on offside goal in Man Utd win...

Enzo Maresca expressed sympathy for VAR officials on Wednesday after his side benefited from a clear error in the 1-0 win over Manchester United.

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

Haaland was initially flagged offside, but VAR ruled that he was kept onside by United defender Patrick Dorgu, failing to account for Enzo Fernandez who was in a clear offside position and interfering with play.

Refereeing body PGMOL admitted to an “error of judgement,” stating the VAR should have recommended an on-field review.

Erling Haaland continues @ManCity's 100% start under Enzo Maresca 🎯 pic.twitter.com/3WQRu6VTYQ

— Premier League (@premierleague) September 13, 2026

However, Maresca defended the officials ahead of Thursday's EFL Cup third-round tie against Championship side Norwich City.

“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 disappointed by the intense focus on the offside goal after an impressive win for his side, who had been reduced to 10 men following Phil Foden's first-half red card.

Enzo Maresca: "Three years ago, when I was here exactly the same thing happened against Man United. We lost the derby there and the goal was not a regular one and, to be honest, no one apologised. We are still waiting for the apology." 👀

Maresca reacts to Howard Webb's comments… pic.twitter.com/1FnOUNkq0Z

— Hayters TV (@HaytersTV) September 16, 2026

The Italian, who took over from Pep Guardiola as manager in June, recalled a controversial incident from his time as Guardiola's assistant during the 2022/23 campaign.

On that occasion, Bruno Fernandes's goal stood despite Marcus Rashford being in an offside position in United's 2-1 victory at Old Trafford.

Maresca added that he is still waiting for officials to apologise for that decision.

“Three years ago, when I was here, it happened exactly the same against Man Utd,” 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 dismissed a question about whether he was glad VAR would not be in use during the early rounds of the EFL Cup, choosing instead to shift focus back to Sunday's victory.

“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.”