After conceding the goal, the home team launched a fierce counterattack to try to equalize the score, but Guangzhou's defense was sturdy and never gave their opponents a chance. However, eventually there were loopholes. In the 70th minute, Mu Xiekui seized a one-touch opportunity to score for his team and leveled the score at 1-1. Subsequently, both teams exchanged attacks and defenses, but neither team was able to score again, and the game ended in a draw, with each team earning one point.
But the home team's equalizing goal sparked controversy. The live feed showed that Mu Xiekui appeared to be in an offside position at the moment the home team passed the ball (as shown in the picture above). The last defender was right back Xu Bin. From the position of the two men standing on the grass, Mu Xiekui was about half a length offside.
As there is no Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in the Chinese League matches, the side judgement was based on the naked eye only, and the referee was unable to cancel the goal without raising the flag to indicate offside. So, is this considered a misjudgment? Please see the picture below.
According to this offside diagram, Mu Xiekui was clearly offside at the moment of the pass, almost more than a body length away. However, it's hard to understand why the linesman didn't notice such an obvious offside. The referees in the Chinese League One are really helpless. Guangzhou has suffered from similar incorrect penalties many times this season, and Evergrande fans seem to be accustomed to it.
Guangzhou fans were pleased with the progress the team made against the Central League leaders, although it was unfortunate that they couldn't quite get their "revenge". What is most gratifying is that the team's progress was obvious, and coming back from 0-5 down to 1-1 is a huge improvement. It is particularly noteworthy that the average age of the players is less than 22 years old.
