Topics: Erling Haaland, Rodri, Rasmus Højlund, Manchester United, Manchester City, English Premier League
The Red Devils found themselves 1-0 down by the 26th minute after VAR intervened to award Guardiola's men a highly-contentious penalty.

Sunday's highly-anticipated Manchester Derby has sadly — depending on which club you support, of course — delivered another VAR controversy after Manchester City were awarded a polarizing penalty.

Manchester United welcomed the reigning champions to Old Trafford in the standout game of Matchweek, and given that Guardiola's men were already the favorites, Ten Hag's side did not need refereeing decisions to go against them.

Unfortunately, in the eyes of many watching this derby, that is exactly what happened just before the half-an-hour mark. After a tussle in the Manchester United box, Rodri went down, leading to a penalty shout from the visitors and a subsequent intervention from VAR.

Paul Tierney, the match official in this game, was thus called over to the screen to review the incident. The replay showed Rasmus Højlund using his arm to impede an onrushing Rodri just as the cross was coming in, with the referee thus handing Guardiola's men a spot kick. Haaland stepped up and coverted with ease, scoring at Old Trafford for the first time and giving his side the lead.

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However, several fans believed this was a soft penalty to award and argued that pulls and shirt tugs of this kind happen all the time during corner kicks. The fact that Tierney took his time reviewing the incident also convinced many that this was not a clear and obvious error, thus sparking anger on X (formerly Twitter). 

Was the referee right to award the Cityzens a penalty or did Rodri's theatrics — or even favoritism from match officials toward Man City — earn the visitors an undeserved spot kick? Check out the best reactions to this controversy below.