Manchester City may have been fortunate to leave Old Trafford with just a 2-0 defeat, and VAR played a big part in keeping the scoreline down.
United had three goals ruled out for offside and hit the post twice, sparing City from what could have been a far heavier defeat.
The first two disallowed goals were straightforward decisions, but Mason Mount’s third left fans inside Old Trafford puzzled and annoyed.
United in Focus spoke to former referee Mark Clattenburg to help clear things up, and he offered a straightforward explanation of the incident.
Mark Clattenburg weighs in on Mason Mount’s disallowed goal against Man City
Michael Carrick’s strategy against Man City was clear: quickly exploit the space behind Guardiola’s high defensive line by playing long balls to his attacking runners.
The tactic proved incredibly effective as United hit the post on two occasions and, notably, had three goals disallowed for offside.
Late in stoppage time, Mount thought he had put the finishing touches on a memorable day by meeting Matheus Cunha’s cross and making it 3-0. But VAR stepped in again, ruling that Cunha was offside. And fans were left frustrated once more.
This time, supporters pointed out that the line appeared to be drawn from the second-last defender rather than the last one. And it made for an extremely tight call against United.
Clattenburg addressed these concerns by pointing out that technology had flagged Cunha’s foot over the 5cm tolerance limit.
“The VAR replays showed that Cunha’s foot was ahead of the second most rear defender and was judged to be more than the tolerance of 5cms offside,” he stated.
“We have to trust the system and the technology!”
Man Utd did their part to earn a win over City
United may have felt hard done by the third goal being chalked off, but this match showed how a team can make their own luck.
Under Ruben Amorim, there were plenty of occasions where United missed early opportunities and ended up paying the price later in matches, something he often pointed to as an ongoing issue.
This time against City, even though the finishing was not perfect, they kept pushing and created so many chances that it did not matter.
No team finishes every opportunity they get – and for those that do well over a season, it is usually down to how many looks they give themselves.
That was exactly what happened here. By the time Mount’s third was disallowed, it felt more like a bonus than something United desperately needed.
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