What a surprise... United get a favourable decision at home!
HOW can you say Marcus Rashford was not interfering? The original pass was intended for Rashford, who was in an offside position thanks to Manchester City’s high line.
Had Rashford stopped running and the ball trickled through to Bruno Fernandes regardless, then we could understand why the officials might say he did not interfere with play. But Rashford didn’t do that. He kept running. He acted as a screen between the ball and Manuel Akanji. He stopped Akanji from putting the afterburners on to prevent the pass from reaching Fernandes. He made Ederson think he was the one about to shoot and City’s goalkeeper had shaped himself to save a shot from Rashford, not Fernandes.
Assistant Darren Cann flagged for offside, yet VAR Michael Oliver decided to overrule his colleague at Old Trafford. Oliver is one of the Premier League’s best officials, if not the best, but he made a mistake here. Rashford clearly interfered, and it is little wonder why Manchester United have gained a reputation for getting favourable decisions at Old Trafford when these incidents occur. The wording of the offside law gives the officials some wriggle room. It is a grey area which requires interpretation. But anyone without a United connection could see that this was offside.