It was a bad night for Barcelona, who failed to grab a victory tonight at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez. A 1-0 defeat now places them six points behind rivals Real Madrid.
Real Madrid thrashed Atletico Madrid 4-1 in the derby at the Bernabeu earlier on the night; thus it was Barcelona’s task to keep the pressure on their arch-rivals through a win against Getafe. That didn’t happen.
It all began as an open match, although Getafe made solid efforts to deny the Catalans comfort and power. Half-time was a moment of suspense, with both teams having chances to open the scoring in the second period.
David Villa was the first to explode, heading the ball just over the bar from a set-piece from Xavi on 48 minutes. Lionel Messi and Dani Alves both went forward afterward, but never were they able to change the indication on the scoreboard.
The surprise then came after the hour mark, when Juan Valera headed home from a corner to put the hosts in front. At this moment, Barca knew they had to go all out attack.
There were signs that Messi was going to net an equalizer later on, but neither his attempts, nor the entry of Pedro and Cuenca were good enough to satisfy the anxious Blaugrana.
Xavi had his opportunity in a free-kick that turned out to be unimpressive, while Miku almost doubled Getafe’s lead on 86 minutes, but his shot after a great run went just wide.
In stoppage time, a relentless Messi hit the left-hand post; it was Los Cules’ last chance… In the end, Getafe celebrated what was truly a vital victory, at the expense of their visitors.
Barcelona still maintain the second place though with 28 points, while Real Madrid stay leaders with 34 points.
It all began as an open match, although Getafe made solid efforts to deny the Catalans comfort and power. Half-time was a moment of suspense, with both teams having chances to open the scoring in the second period.
David Villa was the first to explode, heading the ball just over the bar from a set-piece from Xavi on 48 minutes. Lionel Messi and Dani Alves both went forward afterward, but never were they able to change the indication on the scoreboard.
The surprise then came after the hour mark, when Juan Valera headed home from a corner to put the hosts in front. At this moment, Barca knew they had to go all out attack.
There were signs that Messi was going to net an equalizer later on, but neither his attempts, nor the entry of Pedro and Cuenca were good enough to satisfy the anxious Blaugrana.
Xavi had his opportunity in a free-kick that turned out to be unimpressive, while Miku almost doubled Getafe’s lead on 86 minutes, but his shot after a great run went just wide.
In stoppage time, a relentless Messi hit the left-hand post; it was Los Cules’ last chance… In the end, Getafe celebrated what was truly a vital victory, at the expense of their visitors.
Barcelona still maintain the second place though with 28 points, while Real Madrid stay leaders with 34 points.
