Getafe vs Real Madrid Review
Real Madrid secured their third straight away victory in La Liga with a hard-fought 1-0 win against Getafe, keeping their title hopes alive and narrowing the gap to league leaders Barcelona to four points. With the Copa del Rey final against Barça approaching on Saturday, Carlo Ancelotti made six changes to the lineup that won 1-0 against Athletic Bilbao just three days prior for this brief trip to the southern outskirts of Madrid. José Bordalás’ team was not intimidated by their prestigious opponents and nearly took an early lead when Luis Milla forced a save from Thibaut Courtois.
The contest had a nice rhythm, with Borja Mayoral missing a header from a Juan Iglesias cross, and Fran García being thwarted by David Soria during a fast break. Real Madrid didn’t take long to score, thanks to Arda Güler’s impressive long-range shot after Getafe failed to clear the ball. Endrick had a chance to extend Real’s lead after a clever one-two with Vinícius Júnior, but Djené, the captain of Azulones, cleared the shot off the line.
After the break, two Getafe substitutes tried to equalize, with Real Madrid loanee Álvaro Rodríguez connecting with Coba da Costa’s cross for a header that just skimmed the top of the net. Ancelotti’s team pushed for a second goal, with Soria making a great save to deny a shot from Brahim Díaz. Vinícius Júnior was relentless on the left side and nearly scored after cutting inside, but his right-footed shot went over the bar. Meanwhile, the hosts remained dangerous on the counterattack, and Bordalás expressed his frustration when Mauro Arambarri missed a chance from Mayoral’s tempting cross from the left.
In the end, Real managed to secure a win in a rather unremarkable manner, achieving back-to-back victories before facing Hansi Flick’s team in Seville this weekend. On the other hand, Bordalás has yet to win any of his 15 La Liga matches as a coach against Los Blancos (with 2 draws and 13 losses), leaving Getafe in 12th place after only one home league victory in their last eight matches (2 draws and 5 losses).
