Guardiola successor Marescа: Red card for Foden was correct, but Fernandes deserved one too

Manchester City head coach Enco Marescа said after a dramatic Manchester derby that his midfielder Fil Foden was correctly shown a red card in the first half, but argued that Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes should have received the same punishment for the same incident.

Foden was sent off after kicking out at Fernandes, reacting to the Portuguese player's earlier action. Marescа said he rewatched the incident immediately after the dismissal and concluded Foden's card was clear-cut, since it was a reaction to provocation.

Shared responsibility

The City manager stressed that referees should also have assessed Fernandes' initial intent in the same passage of play, concluding that the United midfielder deserved a red card as well. In Marescа's view, both teams should have been reduced to ten men already in the first half.

Despite playing a man down, Manchester City still went on to win the match.

Dispute over the winning goal

A second controversial moment involved Erling Haaland's winning goal, in the build-up to which Enco Fernandes was in an offside position. Refereeing body Pro Ref later admitted the decision to award the goal involved a "judgment error."

Marescа disagreed with that assessment, arguing that Haaland himself was not offside and that Fernandes did not actually interfere with play, meaning the goal should have stood.