VAR actually made a big mistake during Manchester City 1-2 Manchester United

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Manchester United earned bragging rights over Manchester City with a 2-1 win in the Manchester derby on Sunday.

A goal from Josko Gvardiol – his fourth of the 2024/25 Premier League campaign – looked set to secure just a second win in the last 11 games for Manchester City across all competitions.

However, Amad Diallo truly stepped up to flip the Manchester derby on its head, winning a penalty in the 86th minute – which Bruno Fernandes converted – before stealing all three points himself with a superb 90th minute winner.

However, Anthony Taylor and those in the VAR booth over at Stockley Park could have made life a bit easier for Manchester United – after making a decision Ruben Amorim will surely be furious about regardless of the victory.

VAR made a mistake in denying Manchester United a penalty

During the second half, Rasmus Hojlund found himself up against Ruben Dias inside the box.

The Denmark international took a touch towards Ederson’s goal with his chest, but was then impeded by the Portugal international – who did not seem to make any contact with the ball whatsoever.

VAR did actually check the incident but – bizarrely – described the situation as “normal contact” between Dias and Hojlund, who Owen Hargreaves admires.

That would be a reasonable explanation if the pair simply tangled legs as they were running alongside each other, but the Manchester City No.3 makes an obvious movement across the Dane, clearly tripping him up.

Mike Dean makes bizarre comment on Rasmus Hojlund and Ruben Dias incident

Speaking live on commentary duty for Sky Sports, Gary Neville, who thinks Manchester United will finish in the top four, said to Mike Dean: “I think that’s a penalty Mike.”

Dean – who refereed over 550 games in the Premier League – then strangely responded: “No, not in a game like this it’s not.”

Surely, the stature of the match is irrelevant in a situation like this. It is either a penalty or not a penalty, regardless of how significant one game may be in comparison to another.

With Dean still an active VAR official in the Premier League, these comments are incredibly worrying.