Chelsea takes the lead with controversy! Possible offside by Cucurella in the 1-0 against Barça

FC Barcelona started losing at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea with controversy. In the 27th minute, the 'blues' took the lead thanks to an own goal by Jules Koundé, who, in his eagerness to clear a shot inside the small box from Estevao, ended up tripping over the ball.

Ferran Torres was right behind the Frenchman and also couldn't prevent the ball from entering the net. However, the play was preceded by a pass into the middle from Marc Cucurella. The left-back took advantage of a through ball from Enzo Fernández to break down the right and, with time and space, deliver a low cross that resulted in Koundé's own goal.

Cucurella, however, appeared to be clearly offside when receiving Enzo's pass. Barça's defense was retreating after a corner kick in favor of the 'blues', following several minutes of siege in the Catalan team's area. After VAR review, the main referee, Slavko Vincic, validated the goal.

Semi-automatic VAR enabled Cucurella

The image from the international broadcast seemed clear about the Catalan defender's position. However, the semi-automatic VAR allowed Chelsea's number '3' to play. According to the line drawn by the technology, Pau Cubarsí was the one who broke the offside, stepping out a second late.

The television broadcast was clearly not the best, as the camera on the pitch at Stamford Bridge is usually lower than usual. The dimensions of the field affect the optics at pitch level, and therefore, Cucurella's position gave rise to doubts.

In the first half in London, nothing went right for Barça. After a fairly balanced first fifteen minutes, Hansi Flick's team lost control of the midfield. To make matters worse, Ronald Araujo was sent off with a second yellow card before halftime.

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