Lal Liga: Barcelona held by Getafe; Atletico Madrid extend unbeaten run
Barcelona have now gone three matches in all competitions without scoring, after meandering to a goalless draw against Getafe on Sunday afternoon.
Xavi Hernandez surprised many with his team selection for the match, as he opted to play Alejandro Balde as a left winger, instead of the likes of Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati, who had to settle for a place on the bench.
The decision proved costly somewhat, as Balde missed a guilt-edged chance in the first chance, somehow missing the target after Raphinha’s effort had come back of the post.
The second half was much like the first, with Barcelona unable to create many clear cut chances. Raphinha forced a save from David Soria in the Getafe goal, but aside from that, opportunities were few and far between.
Getafe, to their credit made life very difficult for Barcelona, although they struggled to create any chances of their own. Nevertheless, Quique Sanchez Flores will be delighted at gaining a point against the La Liga leaders.
Having gone into the weekend with a 13 point lead over Real Madrid, Barcelona have now seen that cut to 11, with nine games remaining.
They take on Atletico Madrid in their next match, with Diego Simeone’s men also expected to make live very difficult.
Atletico Madrid extended their unbeaten run to 13 league games after Antoine Griezmann scored twice in a 2-1 home win over Almeria on Sunday as they registered their sixth straight win in LaLiga
Atletico moved to within two points of second-placed rivals Real Madrid but Diego Simeone’s side are 13 points behind league leaders Barcelona. Almeria are 17th, three points above the relegation zone.
Atletico were up and running inside five minutes when Angel Correa cleverly flicked his header from a corner kick into the six-yard box where Griezmann nodded home from point-blank range.
But Almeria got back on level terms in the 37th minute when they pounced on a poor back pass from Correa which set Leo Baptistao on his way down the left against his former club.
The Brazilian quickly took his shot as he was closed down and it deflected off defender Jose Gimenez before looping over Jan Oblak in goal to go down as an own goal.
The visitors’ joy was shortlived, however, as Atletico restored their lead six minutes later with some neat interplay which allowed Yannick Carrasco to cut the ball in to Griezmann who grabbed his second with a smart finish.
Almeria thought they had an opportunity to steal a point in the last minute from the penalty spot when Gimenez handled the ball in the box, but VAR came to Atletico’s rescue, informing the referee that there was an offside in the buildup.
