Reports said City edged the game 1-0 in a derby that turned on fine margins.
That combination made the live story bigger than the scoreline. A single-goal derby is always tense; add a red card and a contested winner, and every update suddenly matters more.
Before kick-off, the focus would naturally have been on the usual derby questions: who starts, who carries the creative burden, and which manager blinks first.
For United, the spotlight tends to fall on Bruno Fernandes as the player who connects midfield to attack. For City, most lineup predictions start with Haaland as the reference point, with mobile support around him and plenty of control in possession.
In matches like this, predicted lineups are rarely just about names.
Live derby coverage is about more than the final whistle.
The next storyline is obvious: the reaction. City move on with the result, but the arguments over the winning goal and Foden’s dismissal look set to run into the next round of Premier League fixtures. For United, the response in their next match may matter almost as much as the derby itself.