Barcelona face Getafe at Camp Nou tonight, and it’s a crucial one. It’s the first game they’ve played since they won the Copa del Rey at the weekend, beating Athletic Bilbao in the final at La Cartuja. It feels longer ago than it was because since then the Super League crisis has broken out, with Barcelona doubling down on their participation today.
Ronald Koeman’s side are still very much in the fight for La Liga, however. They’re fourth in the league table ahead of kick-off, two points behind Sevilla, five behind Real Madrid and eight behind Atletico Madrid. They have two games in hand on each, however, and will have gone into the game hoping to start the final push for the double.
Barcelona took the lead in the ninth minute through Lionel Messi. The Argentine is on fire since the turn of the year, and he wasted no time in carrying on from his masterclass this past weekend down in Seville. Sergio Busquets split the defence with a superb ball and Messi made no mistake after bearing down on goal.
Getafe equalised under three minutes later, however, after an effort from Angel Rodriguez was deflected off Clement Lenglet and past Marc-Andre ter Stegen, only to surrender a lead to Barcelona again in the 28th minute through a comical own goal of their own from Sofian Chakla.
Messi then popped up again with another moment of magic to make it 3-1 to Barcelona in the 34th minute, putting the Blaugrana in cruise control truth, but Getafe got one back heading into the final 20 minutes after Ronald Araujo conceded a penalty and Enes Unal made no mistake in converting his penalty kick, sending Ter Stegen the wrong way.
