In the last five seasons United have been awarded three penalties at the ETIHAD.
One of them had been spotted by VAR, but all were correct decisions, and ultimately dispatched by Rashford, Lukaku, and Martial.
It’s a tad more difficult to recall the last three City players to score a penalty at Old Trafford, especially as one of them died in 1969.
It’s not even sour grapes, because the most blatant non-decision was the foul on Micah Richards in a certain 6-1 victory in 2011
Everyone remembers Keane’s challenge on Haaland, but how many people can recall that United were gifted more penalties in that game than City have been awarded in Pl derbies since.
Of course, if it was just the spot-kick disparity, I’d put it all down to fluky coincidence.
Similarly, if it was just the Rashford offside, or just the Cantona penalty (when nobody had appealed), or just the Kompany Red Card after five minutes, (in the days when match officials were actively encouraged to indulge an early reckless challenge by Paul Scholes) or even the late Michael Owen goal when the referee invoked an added time rule that I’ve never since seen repeated
If these decisions really do balance-out, then perhaps I’ve forgotten a Manchester Derby when United suffered from outrageous misfortune.
There’s definitely a pattern, but it’s a clever, subtle pattern.
Last season, VAR allowed the referee to overrule the initial offside, for Mahrez’ last minute goal v United, but critically, the result was already done and dusted.
In fact, City have probably won more soft penalties and benefited from more VAR decisions than virtually every Premier League opponent.
We were also fortunate at Goodison last season when there wasn’t quite enough concrete evidence to suggest that the referee had made a clear and obvious error when giving Rodri the benefit of the doubt.
Undoubtedly, we occasionally profit, but never in certain situations against certain teams.
Exactly the same against Liverpool when every man and his dog expected Milner to receive a second yellow card last season. We might be given the occasional penalty, but usually in a COVID season behind closed doors, and never in a Semi Final or Final. Meanwhile Alf Grey continues to haunt, as Micah Richards somehow concedes a penalty from kicking a ball against his own face.
www.mirror.co.uk