Manchester City have inflicted a few embarrassments on their neighbours in modern times and now they have done it again. Another big day out at Old Trafford. Another victory. Another song to sing.The cast may be different but the story remains the same. City blue looking at United red in the rear-view mirror.This was a victory that had controversy written right through it.Phil Foden was sent off for kicking out at Bruno Fernandes in only the 23rd minute. Foden was provoked by a sly Fernandes kick that itself warranted some kind of punishment that never came. But the City player was stupid and reckless. He had to go.As for the winning goal – poked in at the far post midway through the second half by Erling Haaland – it is hard to work out why it was allowed to stand. Initially ruled out by a linesman, the decision was bafflingly, and as it turns out incorrectly, overturned by VAR.Enzo Fernandes – chief City pest all day – didn’t make contact with the ball as it passed in front of him on the six-yard line. But he clearly tried to and – given that was a yard offside – that should have been enough to see the initial call confirmed. Man City beat Man United 1-0 at Old Trafford despite being reduced to 10 men in the first half Erling Haaland scored the winner despite the fact his goal caused significant controversy He was originally called offside before VAR intervened, but Enzo Fernandez (No 17) was in an offside position and appeared to interfere with playWhy wasn’t it? Well let’s just say it seems we have now reached the arguably inevitable juncture when referees, VAR officials and their paymasters no longer understand their own rules. Join the club, lads.So United have reason to feel aggrieved. But the fact remains that from the moment Foden walked, there was only one team playing smart, cute football and it wasn’t Michael Carrick’s.United hit the post twice from distance – Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo – while Gianluigi Donnarumma made perhaps the save of the season to deny Bryan Mbeumo in the fourth minute of five added. No wonder his team-mates ran to the big Italian at the end. Donnarumma has had a difficult time of late but this was a reminder of his star quality.But where City were clever and intelligent and in control as they drew the sting and the energy out of United, their opponents were suckered in to playing a game that didn’t suit them.In the City midfield, Fernandez was a defining influence and is destined to become a hero in that part of town. Meanwhile, Elliot Anderson schooled United’s Kobbie Mainoo in a way that shows just why he plays for England and his opponent doesn’t.England manager Thomas Tuchel was here to see this ahead of naming a squad on Friday but you didn’t have to have a trained eye to see the trail of quality Anderson left across this football pitch. United tried to sign him, too. Ouch.At the end City’s joy was unconfined. New manager Enzo Maresca was off down the touchline like a bunny. It wasn’t quite full Jose Mourinho but it had all the same vibes. With Arsenal setting a furious pace at the top of the league, City cannot afford to lose many. As such, this was a big result for reasons above and beyond those that involve the mood that the people of Manchester take in to work with them the next morning.From the start, it had felt like a big afternoon for both clubs. But then when isn’t it when the derby rolls around? For all the fakery and false narratives imposed upon us by the Premier League’s corporate machine these days, this is a rivalry that remains very real.City are only a few games into Maresca’s evolution while United remain a curious mix of optimism and self-harm. The four goals Carrick’s team had scored in the Champions League last Thursday will have helped their self-esteem. But this was different. It was a real opponent.Maresca rolled his dice in terms of his attacking line up and had clearly instructed his players to get on the front foot. It was an approach that had served them well here before but was one that was tempered once Foden made that long diagonal walk across the Old Trafford turf and off down its famous corner tunnel.It was a shame to see him go. Not only because Foden’s gradual re-emergence had slowly gathered pace this autumn but also because it changed the feel of the game. The opening quarter of the game had felt like a street fight. Not pretty but intense and adrenaline-charged. The sending off took some of the juice out of that as City dropped in to a shape and invited United to unlock them.That wasn’t always going to suit the home team, as strange as it sounds. They remain a side most dangerous on the counter attack and had shown signs of that early on here, particularly when Rashford was invited to stretch City down United’s left flank.With a man over and the scale of City’s ambition changing, United were asked to play in a way that does not altogether suit them. Phil Foden was sent off after he kicked out at Bruno Fernandes having been fouled by him This was a huge victory for Enzo Maresca as he made it four wins from four in the league so far But this was a difficult day for Michael Carrick, whose side did nowhere near enough after Foden’s dismissalEarlier, it had been fractious. Twice in the opening two minutes, United players came crashing in to their opponents. First Diogo Dalot brought down Anderson and then Harry Maguire went through the dangerous Rayan Cherki.It was not a one-way street for City, though. Over time and before the red card, United took a foothold. Rashford was always the main outlet but Fernandes was creative too. One chipped through pass had United roars in throats only for the recipient found to be Dalot, who could not control.Haaland was quiet. He often is. Indeed for the first fifteen minutes he didn’t touch the ball. But then a Fernandes mistake invited him to charge through the middle and his pass towards Cherki on the right would have opened up had Lisandro Martinez not made an important interception.Even before Foden departed, City struggled to control the rhythms and tempo of the game the way they often did here in the Pep Guardiola years. That said much for the way United had lifted their levels after last weekend’s disappointing draw at Everton. They looked at times like a team ready to take a big step forward. Sadly for them, that feel wasn’t to last.Either side of the half-time break, Carrick’s team struck a post from distance. First Rashford did so from a 25-yard free-kick and then, in the 50th minute, Mainoo did likewise after running on to the ball in a central position just outside the penalty area at the Stretford End.Rashford then drilled an effort in to the side netting with his left foot before Matheus Cunha drove over from the other side. As the hour mark approached, United were beginning to run hot. Maresca had replaced Cherki with Iliman Ndiaye at half-time but that had done nothing for his team at this juncture.It felt as if a goal would come and soon it did. Incredibly, it was at the other end. Haaland had done nothing all day but his finish to Josko Gvardiol’s far post cross was superb. Haaland looked offside but wasn’t. Fernandez – diving at the ball as it came across – looked offside and was. Even so, City had an unlikely and rather confusing lead that would have been doubled had United goalkeeper Senne Lammens not touched Fernandez’s low shot on to the inside of the post with his fingertips.For United embarrassment beckoned and the tale of the game was to be found in the statistics. Despite their domination of ball and territory and despite two strikes against woodwork, it took them 50 minutes following Foden’s dismissal to register a shot on target. As we entered the last 15 minutes, they had to find something. Instead, Haaland almost poked in a low Fernandes free-kick at the far post as the United back four wobbled again.City, frankly, were proving themselves to be cleverer than their opponents. Now that United had to chase it, City drew fouls and wasted time. As they did so, United’s frustration grew. Kobbie Mainoo struggled against counterpart Elliot Anderson, who was exceptional for City Fernandez (No 17) was also a defining influence and managed to wind up United’s playersFernandez seemed to be at the heart of most of it but United should have risen above it and didn’t. They fell right into the City trap.Bryan Mbeumo and Maguire both drifted headers wide as time wore on. There was no kitchen sink thrown though. There was no onslaught. It all felt a bit forlorn and hopeful.Mbeumo’s chance at the death came on the back of an isolated moment of football intelligence.Against any modern City side – old or new – you have to find something a bit better than that.