After an awful first half in their biggest game of the season, Barcelona found an opening goal against the run of play. Neymar’s perfectly placed free kick was headed home by Luis Suarez.
Suarez had a very poor first half. In the first period, the Catalans just could not get the ball to their much-famed front three. Even when they did, it was only Messi who posed any sort of threat. Suarez was brilliantly marshalled by Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos while Neymar was guilty of trying a little too much to get the better of Dani Carvajal.
It did not help Barca’s cause that there was a certain little Croatian in midfield who was having a stunning game. In terms of his creative play, he didn’t impact the game much, but Luka Modric’s defensive work was stunning. He shadowed Messi around and was always in the right place at the right time.
Barcelona won a free-kick early in the second half and Neymar’s delivery was beautifully headed home by Suarez. But should the goal have stood? Suarez looked to have strayed offside when Neymar delivered the ball. If he was, then the goal should not have stood. It would have made a huge difference as the goal gave Barcelone a huge lift and their performance lifted immediately after the goal.
Looking from this particular angle, it looks like Suarez is onside with the man on the front post-playing him on.
But from this angle, there is a completely different story that is told. Suarez seems to have strayed beyond that man, Mateo Kovacic. Even with the use of technology, there is so much uncertainty for us to decipher whether he was offside. So, one cannot blame the referee for not disallowing the goal. The referee had only a split second to make the decision, and even if the decision had gone the other way, it could have been acceptable.
