Manchester City Played a Man Down for an Hour. They Still Beat United.

Michael Carrick's first game in charge of Manchester United was always going to be a hard one to script. It came against Manchester City, at Old Trafford, in the 199th Manchester derby — and by the time it was over, his team had outshot City nearly two-to-one, hit the post twice, and still lost.

Enzo Maresca, in his first Manchester derby as City's manager, watched his team go down to 10 men in the 23rd minute — and win anyway.

Phil Foden was sent off just past the half-hour mark for kicking out at United captain Bruno Fernandes after the two became tangled on the ground. Maresca didn't dispute the call afterward. "I think it was a red card for Phil Foden to be honest, but also in the same action for Bruno Fernandes, not just for us," he said. "After the red card the plan changed completely."

Down a man, City still found the winner. Erling Haaland scored in the 60th minute after Josko Gvardiol's low cross reached Enzo Fernandez, in a passage of play that triggered an extended VAR review over a potential offside in the buildup. The goal stood. United spent the rest of the match trying to find an equalizer — Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo both struck the post — but goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma denied Bryan Mbeumo's stoppage-time effort to seal it.

Maresca credited his team's discipline for surviving three-quarters of a match a man light. "We didn't concede any transitions or space behind," he said. "It's a special game for everyone; the fans, the club and the manager, but this is not the moment when I'm thinking about myself. I'm thinking about the team and an unbelievable three points." On playing on the counter rather than sitting deep: "If we just wait for them and we don't counter attack, the game would have become more difficult for us. But with Iliman Ndiaye, Antoine Semenyo and Erling Haaland, when we have a chance to attack, we can attack."

Both benches looked different than they did a year ago. Carrick, a former United midfielder, took his first match in charge after succeeding Ruben Amorim. Maresca took his first Manchester derby as City boss after Pep Guardiola's departure over the summer. Sunday's result leaves City level with Arsenal on 12 points, unbeaten in four straight league games. United sit 13th, on 4 points, still searching for their first derby win of the Carrick era.