Chelsea fans were delighted with their first-half display v Brighton in a game that saw them control possession and go 2-0 up thanks to a Pedro strike which was followed up by another Eden Hazard goal. The opening goal also marked the Spaniard’s sixth goal in just nine Premier League starts this season and he is becoming a reliable source of goals for Maurizio Sarri as his side look to keep pace with the top two teams in the Premier League.
Another goal and assist today for Eden Hazard means that he now has the most assists in the top five leagues in Europe, registering nine already this season. But should it really be eight? Controversy reigned amongst Brighton fans as many viewers felt that full-back Marcos Alonso was clearly interfering with play and distracting Brighton goalkeeper Mat Ryan.
From the screenshots below you can see how the play developed. Eden Hazard was running into the box and after initially having his shot blocked he played the ball across the six-yard box. Left-back Marcos Alonso was clearly in an offside position having burst into the box earlier in the move but cleverly he knew this and ignored the ball, letting it roll past his body and into the path of the onrushing Pedro, who slammed home.
Pedro was in an onside position and although Alonso was offside, he made no attempt to play the ball or interfere with play. However, the argument can be made that he was a distraction to the goalkeeper simply by being there, as Ryan raced out to try and claim the ball.
The Australian keep lead the offside protests to no avail but it is this grey area of offside that causes confusion. It is purely subjective whether you think Ryan would have got to the ball if Alonso had not had been there but the referee was put in an incredibly difficult situation.
In our opinion, the referee has got this one right. The ball was too far away from the keeper for him to claim it and Alonso did everything he could to stay out of the way of the ball, knowing he was in an offside position. Judge for yourself down below.
