Real Madrid beat Getafe 1-0 to go four points clear at the top of LaLiga
Real Madrid 1-0 Getafe
Zidane still cautious over LaLiga title
Zidane insisted Real Madrid have not won anything after moving four points clear of Barcelona in the LaLiga title race with a hard-fought win over Getafe.
Real Madrid player ratings v Getafe: Ramos saves the day
Player ratings
Quite a few Real Madrid player failing to get pass marks this evening...
On the whistle match report
Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos kept his nerve to score a late penalty and secure a 1-0 home win over Getafe on Thursday for a sixth consecutive La Liga victory, taking his side four points clear of Barcelona in the title race.
Ramos coolly passed the ball into the net to finally break the deadlock in the 79th minute after Dani Carvajal was felled by the trailing leg of Getafe's Mathias Olivera, who was denied a penalty earlier on after being knocked over by Carvajal.
The late strike felt harsh on Getafe, who had squandered a couple of chances to take the lead, but Zinedine Zidane's side once again saw out a difficult game to capitalise on Barca's 2-2 draw with Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.
Real, who have not won the title since 2017, lead the table on 74 points ahead of second-placed Barca with five games left. (Reuters)
Real Madrid are the only club to have won all six matches since LaLiga restarted.
For much of that match Real Madrid had no idea where a goal was coming from... the celebration was as much relief as anything else.
Real Madrid now have to play:
Athletic (A), Alavés (H), Granada (A), Villarreal (H) and Leganés (A)
Barcelona have:
Villarreal (A), Espanyol (H), Valladolid (A), Osasuna (H), Alavés (A)
Carvajal says Getafe are one of the toughest sides Real Madrid have played this season.
Real Madrid 74 points from 33 games played, four points ahead of Barcelona and if they did end up tied on points Real Madrid would take the title based on their head to head record this season.
Sergio Ramos' penalty the difference on the night. Well won by Carvajal, forcing Olivera into the foul.
Full time! Real Madrid with a very, very narrow 1-0 win that puts them four points clear at the top of the table.
Real Madrid clear and move the play up to the Getafe box, but Mariano fouls as he looks to get to the ball.
Getafe having a final assault on the Real Madrid goal with a minute left to play.
Benzema, who jogged round 9.2 km this evening, going off for Mariano.
Four minutes of time added on.
That looks like Mariano on the touchline getting ready to come on.
Real Madrid have slowed things right down and are pretty much controlling the match now.
89 minutes gone...
Jason right through Casemiro. Getafe frustrated here.
Ramos celebrating his 21st successful penalty in a row, which puts Real Madrid even more into the driving seat in LaLiga
Bordalás decides to mix things up to see if Getafe can salvage something here. Timor and Arambarri off, making way for Ángel and Fajr.
Arambarri booked for a foul on Mendy
Getafe downhearted and dispirited after that goal. Don't look like they believe they can get one back.
Ramos puts Real Madrid into the lead and, as it stands, four points clear at the top of the table.
Ramos to take. Panenka?
Clear penalty for Real Madrid. Carvajal flying into the box, cuts back and Olivera downs him.
Vinicius sums up his night in graphic form.
Real Madrid basically haven't had any creativity in midfield tonight. No spark from Modric, Isco and Kroos. None whatsoever.
Hydration break.
Mata and Damián go off and Jorge Molina and Jason trundle on for Getafe.
Mata booked for chopping Casemiro from behind. He'll miss the next game, against Osasuna.
Zidane's substitutions have not brought any more fluidity to Real Madrid. Still disjointed.
Arambarri lets loose from distance. Courtois watches it sail harmlessly over.
Cucurella off for Duro. The Getafe man not happy with that. He thought he still had something to bring to this game. He certainly still looked pretty lively.
Asensio burns down the left, and gets a cross to just behind the penalty spot where Benzema spins and collects... he gets a shot off, but shanks it and it bobbles wide.
Cross onto Maksimovic's head who tries to cushion it and lay it off for a team-mate, but fails to find anyone.
Zidane has one substitution left, while Bordalás is yet to make a change.
Benzema into the box but Damián gets a nimble toe out and nicks the ball off him.
Asensio, Rodrygo and Valverde on.
Modric, Vinicius and Isco off.
TRIPLE sub coming up from Zidane it looks like. Isco with a poor touch out on the left.
"That'll be his last touch tonight," sniffs the commentator.
60 minutes gone.
Mata onto the top of the net! End to end stuff all of a sudden.
Isco back to Modric at the top of the box and he batters in a shot that takes a touch off a Getafe player and zips just wide.
Good work from Militao to get between Mata and a very long ball up the left wing. 31.9 km/hr to Mata's 30.0 km/hr.
Soria out quickly to deny Vinicius a chance. The Getafe keeper absolutely wellies the clearance and that goes nearly 80 yards.
Damián booked for a cynical break-denying foul on Isco.
Real Madrid make a right mess of things at the back, Mendy forced to pass back to Courtois, who goes for the return pass and mis-hits it woefully out for a throw.
Maksimovic in down the left, but great covering from Ramos to close him down and force him to lose the ball.
Militao into the book too for hoofing Cucurella.
Nyom flies into Kroos and gets well deserved yellow
Second half underway!
Players back out at the Di Stéfano. Looks like no changes for Real Madrid. Remember Varane went off for Militao in the first half, after taking a ball straight in the face.
Three yellows in the first 45 for Real Madrid (Modric, Carvajal and Ramos). That's their worst discipline this season in all competitions. And completely due to Getafe's showing.
Courtois pulling off that fine save from the thigh of Etxeita
Isco has been particularly poor this evening. Zidane in the photo telling him not to be.
Peep! End of the first half. 0-0. Getafe by far the better side, but didn't create that many chances. Meanwhile Madrid, who were disjointed and sluggish, had a couple of very decent opportunities to open the scoring, with Soria denying Vinicius with a superb stop, and the keeper also blocking an Isco effort, although the the man from Málaga will feel he should have hit it better. And he'd be right.
Modric booked for going in over the top on Mata. Nasty one.
Timor whips the ball in and ANY touch whatsoever is probably going to see it fly past Courtois. There is no touch and the ball bobbles off to safety for Real Madrid.
Isco has been a weak link for Real Madrid today. In fact he's not really linked at all.
Five additional minutes of this first half.
Djene off for the medics to have a look at him after colliding with Carvajal
Vinicius has had an extremely frustrating half, but he controls it in the box and gets it to Benzema there. The Frenchman's effort from a tough angle is both weak and wayward.
Militao nearly livens things up by deciding to go round Maksimovic as Madrid's last man and coming somewhat close to losing the ball. He gets away with it though.
The game has suddenly gone rather flat, as both sides begin to think of another nice drinks break at half-time.
40 minutes gone. Still no goals.
Kroos curls the free-kick over, but it comes to nothing. Madrid looking a little bit sharper now though.
Casemiro knocked over by Olivera very close to the edge of the box. It's getting looked at, but it was clearly outside. Still, a dangerous free-kick for Madrid.
Olivera into the box and he tumbles with Carvajal very close by. No penalty. And Real Madrid go straight up the other end and Isco forces a save from Soria! What was in those hydration break bottles?
Getafe once again in control from the re-start. "The trip to the dentist continues for Real Madrid", observes our Spanish commentator.
Militao comes on for Varane
Varane can't go on. That corner smack in the face has left him all over the place and he's asked to be subbed.
This sums up that first 30 minutes from Madrid.
Hydration break time. 27º here in Madrid
Ramos gets a header away from a neatly worked corner, but it's blocked.
That was indeed Real Madrid's first corner of the match.
Benzema dropping right back into his own half to help out. Well, he had absolutely nothing to do further up the pitch, so why not?
Ramos booked for hacking Mata, the Real Madrid player claims he took a hand to the face from his opponent just before and that's why he fell over and brought the Getafe man down. The referee does not buy this argument.
Soria!! Stunning stop to deny Vinicius, who just got his toe on a cross from Mendy! Real Madrid had done the square root of nothing for 23 minutes and were so close to opening the scoring.
Another corner for Getafe, and Etxeita and Varane jump together and the Real Madrid man takes the ball full in the face. He needs a moment to gather his thoughts. The ball flies away for another corner, which Getafe take short and waste.
Mendy knocks a ball up the left to Vinicius who plays it on with his head and if he could get a first touch as it landed it could have been very dangerous. Alas, for him, he entirely fails to touch the ball, running right over the top of it.
Getafe the better side here without a doubt. Harder working, better movement, clearer vision. Real Madrid really stodgy at the moment.
Carvajal booked for charging Cucurella and knocking him over to prevent a very dangerous run in on goal. He was lucky there was cover or that was a red.
Timor took the foul and absolutely battered it into the wall to no effect, other than maybe a very slight bruise for whoever it hit.
Cucurella penalised after a jumping battle over a bouncing ball in the Real Madrid box with Carvajal. Didn't look like much from here, and the Madrid man will be relieved to hear the peep as that was a dangerous situation.
Wonderful sweeping move from Getafe from left to right, back to the left-hand side where Mata is waiting at the top of the box... he gets a shot off, but although Courtois has to go to ground he always had it covered.
How the ground looks this evening.
Courtois! What a save diving to his right! Flew off Etxeita's knee from a deep cross and nearly inside the post.
Madrid try and work it down the left, with Kroos looking to pick out Vinicius, but the Getafe players, busy as anything, crowd out the situation and snuff the danger out.
Good move across the park with a long ball out right (their average pass this season has been 25 metres) and they eventually force a corner, which is headed tamely by Miramontes to Courtois. The big Belgian grabs it like a hot waffle.
Benzema! Ping from the top of the box but Soria is equal to it.
Isco needing attention after that challenge, but looks like he'll be ok to carry on.
Off we go! And a yellow for Timor from the first bit of play. Going in hard on Isco. 8 seconds played.
The Real Madrid anthem rings out around the empty Di Stéfano. Players all set...
Prediction time
Getafe will probably get a goal, but it won't be enough, even though their defence has been very tight this season. Vinicius will make about 300 runs, and will generally lose the ball with an over-heavy touch, but at least one of them will come off, in one way or another. And Benzema is fine fettle right now (see his backheel against Espanyol).
2-1 final score.
Zidane has managed to convince his players and bring out the best in them. They're playing well right now and are an incredible team who have the title within their grasp.
Real Madrid: new Bernabéu retractable pitch delayed by a year
Slide delay
The funky movable pitch at the new Bernabéu can't be put in place quite yet. Basically they need to dig a humongous hole for the rails and there's a Metro station right by the ground which makes digging the hole difficult.
Achraf moves to Inter
The big news at Real Madrid today was the departure of Achraf Hakimi, who is off to Inter Milan for 40 million euros plus another five in add-ons. Real Madrid get first refusal on the player if he moves on for the next five years.
How LaLiga table looks right now
Real Madrid sitting pretty at the top, Getafe looking to hold onto Europe...
Getafe line-up
Bordalás goes with:
David Soria; Damián Suárez, Djené, Etxeita, Olivera; Arambarri, Maksimovic, Nyom, Cucurella, Timor; and Mata.
Real Madrid XI confirmed
Zidane will start with:
Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Mendy; Casemiro, Modric, Kroos; Isco, Benzema and Vinicius.
Getafe still European dreaming
Getafe have only won one game since the restart, recording three draws and a loss in their other matches. Bordalás' side have lost pretty much lost their chance at a Champions League spot but are keen to ensure European football with a Europa League place.
They are missing Antunes and Kenedy tonight, but Bordalás has Djené back, suspended for the Real Sociedad game.
Real Madrid have the title in their own hands
After Barcelona slipped up yet again against Atlético Madrid, Zidane's men can put clear white space between them and Setién's side if they win tonight - with a triumph putting them four points ahead of Barça.
Getafe won't make it easy though, they've had a fine season, although have stuttered somewhat since the restart.
Zidane has Jovic (who had a broken foot, sustained in odd circumstances) and Lucas Vázquez back, neither of who have played since the coronavirus-enforced break.
Hazard is rested and Modric is back in the side after suspension.
Vinicius has been on fire since the re-start. Keep an eye on him.
Real Madrid vs Getafe live
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Real Madrid vs Getafe, which kicks off at Real Madrid's Alfredo Di Stéfano stadium at 22:00 CEST. Check out times around the world and where you can watch with our handy guide.