Carrick urges Manchester United response after City goal error admitted

Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick has urged his side to respond quickly to derby frustration after Pro Ref accepted that Manchester City’s winning goal from Erling Haaland should not have been allowed to stand.

Officials concede error over City winner

City’s decisive goal was awarded despite Enzo Fernández appearing to affect play while in an offside position. Pro Ref issued a statement on Sunday night, roughly three hours after full-time, accepting that the officials had made an “error of judgement”.

• Haaland scored the goal that settled the Manchester derby in City’s favour.
• Fernández was judged to have appeared involved from an offside position in the build-up.
• United defender Lisandro Martínez described the outcome as “an injustice”.
• Carrick agreed that the mistake was clear, although he kept his immediate post-match comments restrained.

The United coach had only a limited period between the final whistle and his broadcast and press duties. He was not fully informed about the failure to follow the correct officiating process until after his post-match news conference had concluded.

Carrick calls for a swift response

While maintaining that the decision had a major effect on such an important match, Carrick said United cannot allow the controversy to distract them from the task of improving their results.

He accepted that the team have fallen short of their desired points total so far, but rejected any suggestion that they need an international break or a reset. Instead, he said the squad must return to winning matches immediately.

• Manchester United host Brighton in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.
• They then travel to Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday.
• Carrick stressed that the team must recover quickly with two fixtures arriving in the same week.

United still responsible for their own recovery

Carrick said the disputed call was not within United’s control, but added that his players still had opportunities after the goal to create chances and find an equaliser. He acknowledged that doing so was difficult, yet insisted the responsibility remains on the side to produce more in decisive moments.

United will take the incident forward as a lesson rather than dismiss it, Carrick said, but their priority is clear: turn their frustration into improved performances and victories in the matches ahead.