Barcelona got back to winning ways in la Liga with what looked like a routine 4-0 win against Deportivo after their shock loss against Celta Vigo two weeks ago. Brazilian Rafinha got the first goal followed by another from a set-piece.
Suarez managed a third goal before half-time to end the game as a contest. Then Leo Messi came on and scored a 4th withing 3 minutes of his introduction to put the icing on the cake.
There were early nerves amongst the Nou Camp crowd and Barca started slowly. Deportivo were frustrating their opposition with a disciplined performance in the opening exchanges.
But a lapse of concentration let Rafinha score the first goal as the ball squirmed under Lux’s gloves. At this point, La Coruna were still in the game but once the second goal went in, it knocked the wind out of their sails.
But maybe the second goal should not have stood. The delivery came in from the left and Pique managed to win the ball in a crowd of players and after a lucky ricochet, Rafinha bundled it in from close range for his second.
But replays of the goal show that while the free-kick was just about to be taken almost every attacker was in an offside position. Even after the knockdown from Pique, it looked like Rafinha was still in an offside position before scoring the goal.
Here is the still of the free-kick right before the goal:
From this image, even the linesman seems to be a good position to judge the offside but he did not raise his flag and the goal stood. It probably was the turning point of the game because up until that goal went in.
Soon after that, Luis Suarez made it 3-0 and the game was over. It might have been a different story had that goal not gone in, but Deportivo LA Coruna lost all their confidence after that goal went in.
Messi shows his importance to the side
There should be no more doubt on how much Lionel Messi adds to the quality of this Barcelona team. Yes, they were 3-0 ahead in the first half but Barcelona managed to create more chances in the second half than in the first.
Had it not been for some poor finishing from Pac Alcacer it would have been 7 or 8 goals with no reply. The win was the perfect way to prepare for their Champions League clash against Manchester City this week.
