Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has defended VAR officials after his side benefited from an acknowledged error in their 1-0 Premier League victory over Manchester United.
Erling Haaland scored the decisive goal in the 60th minute at Old Trafford on Sunday, securing City's fourth win from four league matches this season.
The Norway striker was initially flagged offside, but VAR overturned the decision after determining that United defender Patrick Dorgu had played him onside.
However, the review failed to account for the position of Enzo Fernandez, who was clearly offside and deemed to be interfering with play.
Refereeing body Pro Ref subsequently acknowledged an "error of judgment", stating that the video assistant referee should have recommended an on-field review.
Despite benefiting from the mistake, Maresca defended the officials ahead of City's League Cup third-round clash with Championship side Norwich on Thursday.
"Sometimes they go for you, the decisions, sometimes they go against you," Maresca said.
The Italian stressed the difficulty VAR officials face when required to make important decisions under intense pressure and within a limited timeframe.
"It's not easy for them. Sometimes they make some mistakes. I make mistakes, players make mistakes, I think it's part of our job."
Maresca was also unhappy that the controversial goal had overshadowed City's performance at Old Trafford.
City played much of the match with 10 men after Phil Foden was sent off during the first half, but still managed to secure all three points.
Maresca, who replaced Pep Guardiola as City manager in June, pointed to another controversial Manchester derby incident from the 2022-23 season, when he was part of Guardiola's coaching staff.
Bruno Fernandes scored in Manchester United's 2-1 victory at Old Trafford despite Marcus Rashford being in an offside position during the move.
Maresca said City were still waiting for an apology over that decision.
"Three years ago, when I was here, it happened exactly the same against Man United," he said.
"We lost the derby there. The goal was not a regular goal, if you remember. To be honest, no one apologised. We are still waiting for the apology for that goal.
"Sometimes it happens for you, sometimes it happens against you. It's football."
Asked whether he was pleased that VAR would not be used during the early rounds of the League Cup, Maresca instead returned the focus to City's performance against United.
"I'm pleased with the unbelievable performance from the players on Sunday," he said.
"Talking about one moment after that game, when we played for 70-75 minutes with 10 players, I think it's quite poor. I think the performance was unbelievable."
City will now turn their attention to the League Cup as they prepare to face Norwich in the third round on Thursday.
