Why did the Thierno Barry goal against Man City count? Offside rule explained
Manchester City’s title hopes took a massive blow on Monday after dropping points against Everton.
Everton and Manchester City played out one of the games of the season on Monday, sharing the points after a pulsating 3-3 draw at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
City edged ahead but Everton struck back with three second-half goals to take a shock 3-1 lead. Erling Haaland scored to halve the deficit, before a last-minute screamer from Jérémy Doku ensured that City lead Merseyside with a point.
Two goals from Thierno Barry gave Everton an unlikely point but the first of those strikes will have confused many fans watching along. Midway through the second half, Barry was loitering in an offside position when Merlin Röhl played a through-ball behind the City defense.
Marc Guehi latched onto the loose ball and played an under-hit pass back to Gianluigi Donnarumma, the City goalkeeper. Finding himself in the perfect position, Barry simply strolled onto the ball and slotted home past Donnarumma to draw Everton level. The goal was immediately flagged for an offside but that decision was reversed after a VAR check, ensuring that the goal stood.
Why was the Thierno Barry goal not offside?
Although Barry was clearly in an offside position when the ball was played through, he was judged to have not interfered with the play initially. As such, once Guehi had taken control of the ball, the phase of play was effectively reset and Barry was free to contest for the ball.
Barry’s positioning meant that he was in the perfect position to latch onto the poor pass from Guehi. However that does not mean that he is ruled as offside, as he did not compete for the ball until Guehi had touched it first.
This is not the first time that we have seen incidents like this at the top level. Kylian Mbappé notably benefitted from a similar ruling when he scored for France in the UEFA Nations league final in 2021. The guidelines have been tightened slightly, now requiring that the defensive player makes a “deliberate play” for the ball, while Guehi clearly did against Everton.
Get closer to the game! Whether you like your soccer of the European variety or that on this side of the pond, our AS USA app has it all. Dive into live coverage, expert insights, breaking news, exclusive videos, and more. Plus, stay updated on NFL, NBA and all other big sports stories as well as the latest in current affairs and entertainment. Download now for all-access coverage, right at your fingertips – anytime, anywhere.
And there’s more: check out our TikTok and Instagram reels for bite-sized visual takes on all the biggest soccer news and insights.