GETAFE: Fermin Lopez and Marcus Rashford&#39;s goals took Barcelona to the brink of the La Liga title with a 2-0 win at Getafe on Saturday. The defending champions moved 11 points clear of second place Real Madrid, who drew at Real Betis on Friday to dent their hopes of finishing the season with a trophy. Hansi Flick&#39;s side can win their second consecutive Spanish title if they overcome Osasuna next weekend and Real Madrid fail to beat Espanyol. &quot;It&#39;s not done, we have five more games and we&#39;re only focused on the next one,&quot; Flick told reporters. &quot;We will celebrate when it&#39;s time, but not now.&quot; Barcelona were without vital injured wingers Lamine Yamal and Raphinha but still did enough to see off Jose Bordalas&#39;s tricky side, sixth, in the Madrid suburbs. &quot;We were aware of what was going to happen here, we were going to have few chances and I think we played well, competing well defensively and putting away the chances we had,&quot; Lopez told Movistar. &quot;We know we&#39;ve got a big advantage (in the title race) but even so, we can&#39;t relax, I know it&#39;s a cliche but it&#39;s the truth.&quot; Getafe set out to disrupt Barcelona&#39;s rhythm with small fouls and Barca struggled to create many clear opportunities. Flick opted for Swedish winger Roony Bardghji in place of Yamal and chose Lopez on the left over Rashford. Dani Olmo made the first with a neat dribble, speeding into Getafe territory, but pulled his shot wide of the far post. Eventually the hosts made the breakthrough just before half-time when Pedri played in Lopez. Wearing a protective mask after hurting his face in a collision with Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Juan Musso during Barcelona&#39;s Champions League quarter-final elimination last week, Lopez stayed calm to slot home. The midfielder imitated Yamal&#39;s usual &quot;304&quot; celebration in tribute to the injured teenage star. &quot;The truth is he&#39;s really important for us, it&#39;s a shame that he can&#39;t play any more, but the important thing is that he recovers well and is ready for the World Cup,&quot; added Lopez. With Getafe needing to come out of their shell to find an equaliser, Barca had more opportunities after the break. David Soria saved from Olmo after he met Jules Kounde&#39;s cross, and then the French defender headed a Joao Cancelo ball narrowly off-target.

Football

Barcelona beat Getafe 2-0 through Fermin Lopez and Marcus Rashford, moving 11 points clear atop La Liga after Real Madrid’s draw. Hansi Flick urged focus, with title within reach if results weekend go their way.

Barcelona on brink of La Liga triumph with Getafe win

MADRID: Kylian Mbappe extended his goalscoring streak to 11 consecutive games to help Real Madrid reclaim top spot in La Liga with a 1-0 victory at nine-man Getafe on Sunday. After rivals Barcelona briefly displaced Los Blancos with a narrow win over Girona on Saturday, Xabi Alonso&#39;s side restored their two-point advantage before next weekend&#39;s Clasico. Getafe fended off Madrid until Allan Nyom was dismissed a minute after coming on, and Mbappe quickly pounced to decide the game in the 80th minute. Alex Sancris was also sent off as Getafe unravelled in the final stages. Alonso started with Brazilian star Vinicius Junior on the bench, with the Champions League clash against Juventus on Wednesday and Barca&#39;s impending visit in mind. The winger turned out to be key as a second-half substitute, with both of Getafe&#39;s red cards issued for fouls on him. &quot;Vini had a great impact ... we told him this morning he could be so important,&quot; Alonso told reporters. &quot;It was a very demanding game, coming here to face Getafe is never easy ... it wasn&#39;t the prettiest game but we did what we had to do.&quot; Mbappe returned after an ankle problem kept him out of a France World Cup qualifier earlier in the week, leading the line at Getafe&#39;s Coliseum stadium. The French forward had scored in his previous 10 consecutive appearances for club and country and found the net once again. &quot;We are very happy with how Kylian is going; he&#39;s being decisive,&quot; said Alonso. Mbappe twice came close before Getafe earned a foothold in the game and began to frustrate the visitors, stopping them from creating much danger. Only towards the end of the first period did Madrid perk up again in attack, with Soria saving from Rodrygo Goes after good work by Jude Bellingham. Getafe&#39;s goalkeeper made a good stop from a powerful David Alaba free-kick, and Fede Valverde flashed a strike across the face of the goal before half-time. Alonso sent on Vinicius in the second half, and his spark began to worry the hosts, who resorted to fouls to fend off the Brazilian. Bellingham fed Mbappe, who fired off target, and then whipped a free-kick inches wide, as Madrid remained comfortably on top. Getafe see redThe game changed when Getafe substitute Nyom, under a minute after coming on, needlessly knocked down Vinicius off the ball with his arm and was sent off. Moments after play restarted, Real Madrid took the lead. Arda Guler fed Mbappe, who was just onside, and he turned nicely before firing past Soria and in off the post for his 10th league goal of the season, leading the charts both in La Liga and in the Champions League. Getafe continued to self-destruct and Sancris was sent off for a second yellow card, gained for another unnecessary foul on Vinicius, leaving Jose Bordalas&#39;s side with nine men. Alvaro Carreras fired wide after a cheeky scoop over the defence by Vinicius, whom Getafe fans booed. Despite their significant numerical disadvantage, the hosts had one golden chance to level in stoppage time, but Thibaut Courtois saved from Englishman Abu Kamara with his knee. &quot;We should not give away this chance, but Thibaut did his job,&quot; said Alonso. Getafe coach Bordalas said he did not believe Nyom deserved to be dismissed before Madrid&#39;s opener. &quot;Nyom&#39;s red card changed the game,&quot; said the Getafe coach. &quot;For me, it&#39;s not a red card, yellow at most.&quot; Elsewhere, newly-promoted Elche continued their good start to the season with a 0-0 draw against Athletic Bilbao, which left them seventh, one place above their Basque opponents. Rayo Vallecano climbed into 10th with a 3-0 win at Levante, while struggling Real Sociedad snatched a late 1-1 draw at 10-man Celta Vigo.

The 80th-minute strike sealed Real Madrid’s 1-0 win over nine-man Getafe, extending Mbappe's scoring streak to 11 games and restoring Madrid’s La Liga lead ahead of the upcoming Clasico against Barcelona.

Articles tagged with "Getafe"

Barcelona on brink of La Liga triumph with Getafe win

Mbappe sends Real Madrid top as Getafe self-destruct