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Philippe Coutinho scores OFFSIDE goal as Barcelona somehow fight back against Villarreal
PHILIPPE COUTINHO scored what could be a crucial goal in his Barcelona career on Tuesday night - but should the strike have been cancelled out for offside?
Barcelona: Players greet fans ahead of Villarreal clash
Coutinho has endured a miserable time in Spain since his £142m arrival from Liverpool in January 2018.
The Brazilian has struggled to get into manager Ernesto Valverde’s side over this season.
But he played in tonight’s clash with Villarreal as Valverde made changes to his side.
And Coutinho got on the scoresheet after just 12 minutes to double Barca’s lead.
But TV replays suggest the La Liga strike should NOT have been given.
Philippe Coutinho tapped in from a Malcom centre from the right.
Coutinho - as the replays show - WAS onside when Malcom played the ball into the box.
But neither he nor Malcom appeared to be onside in the build-up to the goal.
As these images show, both Barcelona players looked offside when the ball was played down the right to Malcom.
But the linesman missed it and VAR was not used.
Incredibly, Barca let Villarreal back into the game in the second half.
First Samuel Chukwueze scored for the hosts seven minutes after Coutinho’s fortuitous effort.
And Karl Ekambi made it 2-2 final minutes into the second half.
Ekambi caught out Barcelona goalkeeper Marc Andre ter Stegen with a sneaky shot from an impossible angle, with the shot-stopper too far out of his goal expecting the cross.
And Barca were rumbled on 62 minutes when Vicente Iborra made it 3-2 to the relegation-threatened hosts.
Carlos Bacca then made it four for the hosts after a sublime assist from Santi Cazorla.
But Barca were not to be denied as goals from Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez late in the game ensured the points were shared.