My goal was legal against Malaga, insists Barca´s Deulofeu

Gerard Deulofeu said he did not see a problem with his opening Barcelona goal, despite replays appearing to show the ball had gone out of play in the build-up against Malaga.

LaLiga leaders Barca defeated Malaga 2-0 at Camp Nou on Saturday thanks to Deulofeu’s controversial strike and Andres Iniesta’s first goal in over a year.

Deulofeu ended his 16-match wait to open his account for Ernesto Valverde’s men in the second minute following a move which saw team-mate Lucas Digne carry the ball out of play before teeing up the Spaniard.

“I didn’t see a problem,” Deulofeu told beIN Sports. “I still have not seen a replay of the incident, but for me it was legal.

“I believe this, hence why I played on.”

Iniesta ended Malaga’s hopes of a comeback before the hour-mark, his left-footed shot deflecting off visiting captain Roberto Rosales and lopping into the top-right corner.

The damage was done after the first goal, however, as Malaga defender Luis Hernandez insisted the ball had crossed the line before Digne set up Deulofeu.

“I can understand that they say it didn’t go out but it’s absurd, the ball was a half a metre out over the line. Once again, a decision is made that we suffer from,” said Hernandez, whose Malaga are bottom of the table with just one point from nine matches.

“It has to be said that in six of our nine games, the first goal is a refereeing error. We’re last, we are not playing well but this is weighing heavy on us,” he said after the game.

“The change today was after two minutes, against Valencia, Girona, Eibar. We are a tired of it, we are self-critical and we are not playing well but this is very difficult.”