Ter Stegen goal-line heroics help Barça edge Getafe
Barcelona 2-1 Getafe: as it happened
Here's how the top of the table looks after today's game. No movement for either Geta or Barça.
| Pts | MP | W | D | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 52 | 23 | 15 | 7 | 1 |
| 2 | 52 | 24 | 16 | 4 | 4 |
| 3 | 42 | 24 | 12 | 6 | 6 |
| 4 | 40 | 24 | 10 | 10 | 4 |
| 5 | 39 | 23 | 11 | 6 | 6 |
Barcelona pull level on points with Real Madrid, who host Celta at the Bernabéu on Sunday evening.
Geta made life very hard for the hosts, who appeared to have the game in the bag at half time. In the end, the champions were forced to dig deep in a nail-biting finale!
And there's the whistle! Barça hang on for victory!
Ángel pulled up for a foul. That'll probably be that...
Piqué again in the right place at the right time to cut out a ball that was heading through the back line. Free to Barça. Ter Stegen in no hurry...
Soria launches a goal kick into the Barça half as Geta search for an equaliser. Ter Stegen sportingly puts the ball out as Mata goes down with cramp.
Three minutes added...
Messi! His trademark move almost finds the top corner as he skips in from the right and lets fly with his left.
Kenedy is perhaps lucky that the ref plucks a yellow card from his pocket after a terrible challenge on Roberto.
Cucurella hits a long ball towards the Barça area and Piqué is happy to guide it into Ter Stegen's gloves. The German takes hs time over getting it back into play.
Geta have a sniff of a three-on-two break but Piqué, who has been excellent in the second half, gets across to hoof it clear.
A breather for Barça as Geta concede a free kick deep in the hosts' half.
Fati goes in the book for not exactly racing off the pitch.
And that's the lot for Fati this afternoon. The youngster goes off to an ovation and Arturo Vidal comes on.
Colossal defending from Nyom, who stops Fati in his tracks on the far side.
It's a training ground job and almost comes off before Busquets and Griezmann combine to clear the danger.
Junior goes in the book for a very blatant handball. Free for Geta...
The visitors are suddenly back on top in Camp Nou and looking very dangerous indeed...
Into the near post from Kenedy and Mata swings a boot at it under pressure but can't find the target.
Corner for Geta... The big guns come trotting up.
Mata is through and Piqué pulls off the perfect challenge in the area to deny him! Clean as a whistle and it needed to be!
Griezmann wide again! This time the Frenchman has it on his right and flashes a shot beyond the far post.
Penalty shout! Ángel is wrestled to the floor by Piqué but the ref waves it away.
Rakitic on for Barça, Arthur off.
Frenkie de Jong leaves Mata in a heap and scarpers before the ref can get to his top pocket.
Griezmann! What a blazing miss! Great work from Junior opens up a chance for the Frenchman, who has the goal at his mercy. On his weaker peg, he thrashes over from inside the area!
The wind is very much back in Geta's sails now.
Ter Stegen! That might be the best save of his career! Arambarri delivers a wicked cross and the German makes a double one-handed stop right on the line! Incredible!
Free kick to Geta out on the left as Busquets hauls down Etxeita...
Maksimovic cleans up at the back as De Jong looked for a cross from the right channel.
Soria! A lovely stop from the Geta keeper to deny Fati! Corner...
Messi immediately alters his position again and moves to a more advanced staging post. A Piqué ball over the top is just too hefty for the Argentinean to chase down.
Football really is a funny old game...
And it's Ángel! The Geta striker, who is a target for Barça, lands a first-time effort inside Ter Stegen's near post! What a sweet hit on the perfect stage for the 32-year-old, who could be playing for Barça this time next week!
Geta win a free as Busquets does what Busquets does, blocking Cucurella's run and then giving it the old "who, me?" look at the ref.
Busquets is lucky not to be punished for a sloppy ball in midfield that Geta almost capitalise on to break. That's quickly forgotten though as Messi is brought down on the run and his appeals for a foul are waved away.
Kenedy pops a cross in and Fati is there to hook it clear.
Messi again turns on the Mad max-style burners and skips through a few challenges to eventually draw a foul. The Argentinean is thoroughly enjoying himself now.
77 percent of the old balón for the hosts so far.
Messi starts a move from his own half and almost finishes it at the far post after combining with Fati but his shot is blocked. For some reason the ref signals a goal kick.
Messi has dropped deep, very deep, in search of the ball at the start of this half.
Nyom and Ansu Fati get into a bit of handbags as the Cameroonian sends him flying as though the pitch was a wrestling ring. The youngster is not amused but the big defender avoids the ref's naughty book.
Piqué appears to be back in the pink as he canters down the flank to beat Mata to a long ball.
Double change for the visitors. Ángel on for Molina, Kenedy replaces Olivera.
Beaucoup movement on the Geta bench...
Mauro Arambarri has a speculative strike from about 30 yards out but it was always rising and Ter Stegen watches it fly over his bar.
Free kick to Geta in a promising position as Umtiti clashes with Mata in the air. The Frenchman gets his name jotted down for his troubles.
No further changes at half time.
We're back underway!
That said, the visitors have yet to force a save from Ter Stegen and haven't scored at Camp Nou since 2014...
The disallowed Nyom goal was justified but Geta generated decent chances for Molina, Cucurella and Mata in the opening 45.
A fair enough scoreline at the half considering Barça's attacking verve but there is definitely frailty at the back for Getafe to exploit after the break. If the visitors come out as they did in the first half and pressurise Piqué and co. they can get back into this.
And there's the whistle! Barça take a 2-0 lead into the break but Getafe can feel a little hard done by that they aren't at least on the board after a solid first half from the visitors. Two mesmerising moves the difference at the half though.
Messi! Soria makes a fine save to deny the Argentinean!
Half-hearted appeal for a penalty aganst Umtiti, but the Frenchman's control was on his chest.
Barça look happy enough to run the clock down here and secure their lead at the break.
Four minutes added...
And he lofts it in... but to nobody in particular. It bounces out on the far side under the watchful eye of Ter Stegen.
Free to Geta in a position that might be of interest to the boot of Marc Cucurella...
Two wonderful attacking moves have taken the wind right out of Geta's sails. The visitors were by far the better side for 30 minutes but as so often is the case, the fact that the hosts have Messi has turned the tide.
It's not far off! The little wizard waves that wand of his and aims for the top corner, his effort whistling past Soria's outstretched paw but just high and wide.
Free kick to Barça, Messi range...
The right back finishes a glorious Barça move that goes from one side to another, completely disjointing the Geta defence. Junior Firpo provides the assist with a ball across the face of goal. Geta fail to clear and Roberto lands a plum left-footer into the bottom corner!
Fati breaks down the left and evetually concedes the free after clattering into Djené.
We make that 13 assists for Messi now in LaLiga...
It's fair to say that was completely against the run of play and Setién's relief on the touchline is palpable, the Barça boss thumping thin air in delight.
Like the Faith No More classic, that came out of nowhere! Umtiti feeds Messi and the Argentinean provides a bit of genius to play Griezmann in. From there all he has to do is beat Soria and he does so with a deft flick.
Barça happy to just stroke it about it now to take some of the sting out of Geta's tail.
Barça almost find a way through! A lovely little ball in to Griezmann takes the defence out of the game and the Frenchman rounds the keeper but just runs out of pitch!
Piqué in extremis to keep Jorge Molina out!
Another Geta move rattles Barça's back line and only Nyom tripping over his own feet spares the home side. Barça eventually get the ball out of their half on the break but Griezmann fluffs his lines and Geta clear.
Barcelona's defence are creaking in every sense here as Piqué also looks to be pretty uncomfortable on that knee...
Cucurella! The on-loan Barça wide man flashes a shot past Ter Stegen's far post. Geta on top here and Barça clinging on by a thread...
Ruled out! Nyom appeared to thump Umtiti in the throat with his elbow before beating Ter Stegen, and the ref signals no goal!
The Cameroon defender bangs in the rebound after Ter Stegen parries the inital effort from Molina!
Here comes Firpo as Alba limps down to the dressing room.
A Barça move breaks down as Alba is clearly unable to run for the ball on the left. He's on the turf now and will have to be replaced.
Hello... Jordi Alba appears to be signalling to the bench that he's felt a twang and Junior Firpo is out to warm up.
Ansu Fati has Camp Nou on their feet with some lovely footwork to beat two defenders but he is eventually bundled off the ball. "Ansu! Ansu!" goes up the cheer from the stands.
Busquets lobs a ball over the top and Messi brings it down with a deft touch but can't lift it over Soria! First decent opportunity for the home side.
Messi gets his first sniff of a half chance but Xabier Etxeita makes the block. Zero shots on goal from either side as of yet.
Geta try and pick a way through the Barça back line but are repelled. Barça break up the other end and lose the ball. Geta burst forward and Mata gets in behind but runs the ball out. The very definition of end to end at the moment...
Problems for Barcelona as Piqué downs down in agony after an aerial challenge... he looks ok to continue to continue though, which is just as well for Barça who only have B team centre half Araújo in reserve on the bench.
Nyom is penalised for a foul on Messi, but all the Geta defender did was stand still. The Argentinean just thudded into a veritable brick wall.
A provident right boot from Umtiti as Cucurella looked to release Jorge Molina. The Geta captain would have been clean through there...
The first foot race between Sergi Roberto and Cucurella leads to a free for the hosts. That will be a fascinating duel, with the on-loan Barça man possessing a good deal more pace than today's Barça right back.
Cucurella gets a cross in from the left but the flag is up for offside.
And we're off! Barça get the ball rolling...
Barcelona players all sporting a Dembélé 11 shirt for their teammate, who is out for the season after surgery to repair a hamstring tear.
The teams are out for the pre-match photos and pleasantries and we're about to get started at Camp Nou...
Getafe's away form this season has been none too shabby. After a 1-0 loss at Atlético on the opening day of the season, the Azulones have been beaten just twice, a 2-0 reverse at Sevilla and a 1-0 defeat at Villarreal. On their last two away days, Bordalás' side have banged in five without reply.
As manager of Betis last season, Quique Setién lost both of his matches against Bordalás' Getafe. However, the Geta manager has yet to beat Barcelona in his entire managerial career.
It's always an imperfect meaure of a team's whereabouts in terms of form, the old X best Y who beat Z therefore... but worth noting that Valencia's 2-0 win over Barcelona was not repeated when they played Geta, who outplayed Los Che utterly in a 3-0 win last weekend.
And Geta's subs, including Ángel. Kenedy and Deyverson give Bordalás some options out wide and through the middle, depending on how the match pans out. Chichizola, Cabaco, Ángel, Amath, Deyverson, Timor, Kenedy.
Barça's bench, which includes Albanian international striker Rey Manaj: Neto, Semedo, Rakitic, Vidal, Junior, Araújo, Manaj.
Cucurella will be deployed on the left of midfield in Camp Nou where he will look to wreak havoc on Sergi Roberto. The La Masia graduate is quite a handful and he'll be looking to make an impression this afternoon against his parent club.
And here's Getafe's starting line-up, with the big news being that Ángel starts on the bench for the visitors...
The last time Geta scored in Camp Nou was in 2014, when another Ángel, Lafita, scored twice in a 2-2 draw.
Barça's starting XI is in... Ansu Fati starts alongside Messi and Griezmann up top while Sergi Roberto continues at right back in place of Semedo. Arthur gets the nod in midfield with Piqué and Umtiti starting in the centre of defence.
Although Getafe come into this game as the form side between the two, the visitors have not enjoyed much success against Barcelona in LaLiga in recent years. A 0-0 draw in Camp Nou two years ago was the last time Geta reaped any points from the reigning champions and it's been almost a decade since the Madrid side beat Barça, in the Coliseum back in November 2011.
The visiting Azulones have the fourth-best defensive record in the division and have won their last four Liga fixtures on the bounce without conceding. Barcelona on the other hand lost to Valencia three weeks ago and snuck past Levante and Betis by a single goal.
Another player with a point to prove in Camp Nou is Marc Cucurella, who in the build-up to the game criticised his parent club for not having the patience to persevere with La Masia graduates these days.
And here's Getafe's 18-man list, which contains few surprises. Vitorino Antunes misses out with injury and Damián Suárez is suspended, otherwise José Bordalás has pretty much a full squad to choose from.
Here's Barça's squad for this afternoon, which contains 15 first-team players Setién has available, two of whom are keepers. Barça B players Araújo and Manaj make up the numbers with Ansu Fati now very much a fixture in the Azulgrana senior picture.
Barça boss Quique Setién has avoided a serious defensive crisis this afternoon with Gerard Piqué, Samuel Umtiti and Nelson Semedo all passing late fitness tests. Clément Lenglet is suspended for today's game, which would have left Setién with little in reserve to try and stop Ángel and Jorge Molina running amok on Barça's home turf.
It will be an intersting afternoon for Getafe striker Ángel Rodríguez. The Azulones' top scorer has been linked with a move to Camp Nou to provide temporary cover for the injured Luis Suárez and Ousmane Dembélé but will line up against the club considering signing him with the intention of furthering the ambitions of his current employers.
Hello and welcome to AS English's live coverage of Barcelona vs Getafe from Camp Nou. It's second vs third as the two sides meet in Catalonia with Barça looking to pull level with Real Madrid at the summit of the Liga table and Geta seeking to cement their place in the Champions League spots by denting the champions' title defence.
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