Man United given clear referee red card verdict after controversial Man City incident
Alejandro Garnacho was adjudged to have been brought down outside the box during the early stages of Manchester United vs Manchester City
Former Premier League referee Mike Dean praised the decision from John Brooks when Alejandro Garnacho was brought down during Manchester United's showdown with Man City.
The first flashpoint of the afternoon took a matter of seconds when Ramus Holjund and Garnacho combined, the Argentine raced through on goal before he was brought down.
Brooks awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box, despite protestations from the United players after the 20-year-old went to ground in the box.
Despite being through on goal and hauled down by Ruben Dias, a yellow card was brandished with a swarm of sky blue shirts covering.
Initially, the official delayed his decision before awarding a free-kick and the decision was welcomed by Dean, who was part of the commentary team alongside Peter Drury and Gary Neville.
He said: "I think it's a good on-field call by John Brooks, he's waited a couple of seconds to see if it can be passed to the right wing, it hasn't, he pulls it back.
"For me, it's just outside so the right call, a good call at this early stage of the game."
Ruben Amorim was looking for his third win of the season against City after inflicting defeat on Pep Guardiola in the Champions League, during his time at Sporting CP manager, and in the reverse fixture at the Etihad Stadium.
The dramatic win across Manchester was one of the high points of the season for United and in the Portuguese's early tenure at Old Trafford.
Amad was the hero on the afternoon after his late showing stunned the reigning Premier League champions.
Josko Gvardiol opened the scoring in the first-half but United turned the encounter on its head with two late goals.
Firstly through a Bruno Fernandes penalty - won by the Ivorian - before the attacker raced through and squeezed home the winner.
On Sunday, Garnacho almost had the opportunity to give United the dream start against City until he was felled.
Fernandes took the resulting set-piece but failed to add to his tally and mark his recent Player of the Month accolade with a goal.