FC Barcelona continues its unbeaten streak in La Liga. Against FC Getafe, the team secured a comfortable 3-0 victory at the Estadi Johan Cruyff, its temporary home stadium.
FC Barcelona had made a strong start to the season with three wins, one draw and the best offense (13:3 goals), staying hot on the heels of leaders Real Madrid (who beat Espanyol 2-0 this time). But surprise team Getafe had also started with just one point less and now wanted to win away at the mighty FCB for the first time in 21 attempts.
Incidentally, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick made four changes after the recent 2-1 Champions League win against Newcastle United: Christensen and Eric replaced Cubarsi and Araujo in central defense. Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres also started in place of Fermin and Rashford.
Meanwhile, Getafe coach José Bordalas saw no need for change after the 2-0 win against Real Oviedo and fielded the same starting lineup.
Ferran Torres misses out on hat trick
The game began with the hosts dominating, pinning their opponents back and waiting for their chances. And lo and behold, the first good opportunity led directly to a goal. After a beautiful backheel pass from Dani Olmo, it was Ferran Torres who scored the Blaugrana’s opening goal (15′).
The Catalans continued to dominate, but didn’t create a flurry of chances. Getafe couldn’t get anywhere near the opposition’s goal and had to swallow a 2-0 deficit. Barcelona covered the field from their own penalty area to the opposition’s in just a few seconds with three passes. Once again, Ferran Torres kept his cool in front of goal and scored his second (34′). Shortly before half-time, the 25-year-old even missed out on a hat-trick when he hit the crossbar with only the goalkeeper to beat (43′).
Dani Olmo seals the deal
Getafe came out of the break much more ambitious, trying to get back into the game with aggressive tackling and more intensity. Barca were a little too passive in this phase – and so Javi Munoz, who had come on as a substitute shortly before, had the first really good chance for the visitors. But the ball whizzed just past the left post (49′).
The visitors repeatedly tried to unsettle Barcelona with minor fouls, but they were hardly impressed. Dani Olmo shot just over the bar from another free kick (60′). Just a few minutes later, the former Leipzig player did even better: after a pass from substitute Rashford, he only had to tap the ball into the empty net to seal the game (62′).
Not much else happened after that. One notable scene saw substitute Fermin fail to beat David Soria from a very tight angle (73′). Rashford had one last chance, but he too was denied by the Getafe keeper (90’+2). Barcelona thus extended their unbeaten run and jumped back up to second place in La Liga.
Getafe are back in action on Wednesday (7 p.m.) at home against Deportivo Alaves. Barcelona then conclude their busy week in La Liga on Thursday evening (9:30 p.m.) with an away game at newly promoted Real Oviedo.
