Phil Foden couldn’t help but taunt a group of Manchester United supporters as he left Old Trafford following Manchester City’s derby triumph.
The England international received a straight red card in the 23rd minute after kicking out at Bruno Fernandes, putting Enzo Maresca’s City in serious danger of seeing their perfect Premier League start come to an end.
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However, Erling Haaland eventually produced the decisive moment just after the hour mark, steering Josko Gvardiol’s deflected cross into the net from a difficult angle to stun the Theatre of Dreams.
The goal was initially disallowed for offside by referee Michael Oliver, but VAR intervened and overturned the decision, despite questions surrounding Enzo Fernandez’s potential involvement in the build-up.
United were handed a late chance to equalise when Bryan Mbeumo found himself in a promising position, but Gianluigi Donnarumma made an excellent stop to preserve City’s third consecutive clean sheet across all competitions.
Phil Foden leaving Old Trafford tonight. 😂🩵 pic.twitter.com/OEm8aKJwDZ
— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) September 13, 2026
The victory moved City level on points with league leaders and champions Arsenal, who had defeated Sunderland a day earlier to keep their flawless record intact.
United, meanwhile, remain 13th in the standings with just four points, and local star Foden appeared to have little sympathy for their situation as he departed the home of his rivals.
Footage shows a smiling Foden holding up his fingers to signal 1-0 while brushing off the loud jeers from supporters and accusations of being a ‘cheat’.
‘Unbelievable performance from the lads. Gutted I didn’t get to play my part properly. Proud to be Blue,’ Foden later tweeted.
Foden is now facing a three-game suspension following his dismissal, which is expected to rule him out of City’s upcoming fixtures against Norwich in the Carabao Cup, as well as Sunderland and Liverpool in the Premier League.
The midfielder will be available again for City’s Champions League group-stage meeting with holders Paris Saint-Germain on October 14.
Speaking after the match, Maresca commended his players for the ‘spirit’ they displayed after being reduced to 10 men following Foden’s dismissal.
‘With the red card changed our plan a little bit but credit to the players because their effort, the spirit has been brilliant,’ the City head coach told reporters.
‘The moment we go to ten players it changes all the players. At the beginning we wanted to create an overload in the middle but after 23 minutes it changed completely.’
When asked whether he believed Foden deserved to be sent off, Maresca said: ‘It can be a red card but in the same action it can be a red card for Bruno. It is what it is.’
‘It changed the plan for us but also changed the plan for them. They are unbelievable in transition and the moment we went to ten men we didn’t give them any transition.
‘The tactical plan is one thing but the main thing today was the effort from the players, outstanding.’
City will aim to maintain their perfect start and make it five victories from five Premier League matches when they welcome Sunderland to the Etihad next weekend.
United, meanwhile, will head to Fulham looking to secure only their second Premier League win of the campaign.
