Barcelona - Getafe summary: score, goals & highlights, LaLiga EA Sports

That's all, folks!

Thanks for joining in on the action and following along. 

Make sure to stay tuned to AS USA where we've got more LaLiga action coming up this weekend.

Joe

Here's how the table looks:

The win puts Xavi's side ahead of Girona and just 5 points from Madrid, who play Sevilla tomorrow. 

What do you think, is there a title race on for Barcelona?

Full-time thoughts:

In the end, Barcelona were simply too much for Getafe, who were constantly caught out at the back with balls played behind the defence.

The first half saw both sides threaten and create chances, but it was Barcelona who took the lead with Raphinha, who slotted past Soria after a long ball landed at his feet.

After the break, Getafe continued their pressing game and caused Barcelona some more problems, but Xavi's side withstood the storm and created chances of their own.

The long ball in behind the defence was a constant source of chances for the blaugrana, and Christensen played across to JoãoFélix to make it two.

Number three came from Frenkie after a mazy run set up a clear route to goal, and Fermín smashed home towards the end after another collapse in the Getafe defence.

The win puts Barcelona ahead of Girona and into second place.

FULL-TIME!

In the end, it's a comfortable game for Barcelona, who found chance after chance come their way against a spirited but limited Getafe side.

Xavi's side move into second.

We're back underway.

Vitor Roque is played in behind and sees his shot saved by Soria. 

It lands at Fermín's feet and only needs the youngster to put his shot on target and into the empty goal. 

4 added minutes.

Getafe just can't find the final ball.

They come storming at the Catalan club but run out of ideas as they get to the box, allowing the home side to recover their shape and eventually the ball.

We're into the final minute of normal time.

Small fouls are breaking up the play in the final minutes as both teams know where the points are going today.

Oscar plays left to Rico as Getafe come forward, but there's nobody to aim for as the winger plays a poor ball towards Ter Stegen.

Aleñá goes in tough on the newly-introduced Fort, from one ex-Barça canterano to another.

More Barça subs:

OFF: Cancelo, Gundogan

ON: Fort, Pedri

Barcelona miss around 300 chances to shoot inside the six-yard box as they try to score the perfect goal, taking on the army of white shirts which eventually crowd round the ball and smother the chance.

We move into the final ten minutes as Cancelo sees his shot deflected over the bar.

Rico finds a yard on the left and doesn't hesitate before firing a rocket into the stands.

Vitor Roque has taken up Raphinha's position on the right wing.

Getafe change:

OFF: Ilaix

ON: Yellu

More Barcelona changes:

OFF: Raphinha, Christensen

ON: Oriol, Vitor Roque

SAVE! Soria gets two string hands on Fermín's effort but that buildup from Barcelona - between De Jong, Gundogan and Raphinha - was stunning.

CHANCE! Borja Mayoral smashes just wide after nice movement in the box shakes his marker away and really, he should be getting that on target as the ball from the right was superb.

Cubarsí sweeps up a few times as Getafe pop the ball in behind the home defence. The young centre-back has no issue, fighting off Mayoral with ease.

20 minutes to go. Barcelona look increasingly comfortable.

CHANCE. Oscar gets on the end of a cross from the right but I don't think he's expecting it and as a result, there's no power on the effort that bounces wide.

Getafe changes:

OFF: Maksimovic. Djené, Greenwood

ON: Oscar, Aleñá, Mata

Raphinha has scored and assisted, but it's not his day. A free-kick is rolled to him but he misses the ball completely and Getafe survive.

Barcelona want more and they come at Getafe again, smelling blood. The crowd do too, and force their team forward with a huge noise as Getafe resort to tough tackles.

Barcelona change:

OFF: João Félix

ON: Fermín

De Jong makes a wonderful run through the middle of the pitch and plays the ball through which, after a deflection, ends up at the feet of Raphinha, who gives it back to him as Getafe scramble.

The Dutch midfielder, like a true postman, delivers as he slots into the goal.

DE JONG

We've had an hour of play and Barcelona are, thanks to the second goal, looking comfortable.

Barça come again but Raphinha sees his run blocked as he skips inside onto his left foot.

That goal seems to have calmed the fans, who had been quiet but are now in full voice. Fermín is going to come on for the home side.

The ball is in Soria's net but the flag is up.

Raphinha played Lewandowski in through the middle where he spun on the ball, opened his body and smashed into the bottom corner.

The linesman, however, saw that the Pole was indeed offside as the ball left Raphinha's foot.

Ouch. Milla goes in on João Félix as the Portuguese is mid-jump and he goes crashing to the floor.

Back underway.

You can probably guess what happened. The ball is played in behind Getafe's defence from Raphinha towards Christensen, who makes a daring run forward. He takes a touch and squares to Félix, who passes into the net. 

JOÃO FÉLIX

While Getafe evidently haven't got the player quality that Barcelona possess, they're still winning every single 50/50 and are working incredibly hard off the ball to make life as tough as possible for the blaugrana.

Rico is booked for pushing Lewandowksi as the striker gets in behind again.

CHANCE! Milla fires a swerving shot towards goal from distance hat is saved onto the post!

Maksimovic is simply everywhere: he's pressing De Jong like crazy and has no trouble in racing ahead to chase down Ter Stegen.

Djené is booked for a foul on João Félix and will miss Getafe's next game.

Barcelona start with some positive possession as Getafe chase. The wind takes the ball from Kounde's foot and Getafe get their first touches.

And we're off!

Barça get us going for the second half.

Half-time change:

OFF: Iglesias

ON: Carmona

*****

No changes for Barcelona

Almost ready to go...

The players are in the tunnel and they're just waiting on the green light to get back out.

As the dark clouds roll in over the hill, we've got a few subs from both sides keeping warm with some training routines. Will we see any changes at the break?

Long ball count:

Barcelona: 31

Getafe: 32

Getafe still in the game

The blues should feel like there is life left in the game for them, as they've managed to carve out chances and force mistakes from the blaugrana back line and goalkeeper. If they can keep up the intensity, then who knows what might happen...

Could Barça do with Pedri?

I have to say, Barcelona haven't been poor, but Getafe have done well to put them under pressure at the back. Pedri would give them class in the middle, but I don't know if what he brings is what they're lacking in the game.

Half-time thoughts:

Somehow the game is only 1-0. Both sides have had chances with the clearest of the lot coming for the goalscorer, Raphinha, who has done superbly well to chase down every ball over the top of the Getafe defence. 

However, his decision making - apart from the goal - has not been there and as a result Barça go in with the narrowest of leads.

As for Getafe, they have put their opponents under huge pressure and battled well, forcing mistakes all over the pitch and tempers have flared at times.

Their game plan is working well, although they will want to stop the leaking at the back, where Barcelona are finding a lot of joy.

HALF-TIME!

An entertaining first half comes to and end with Barcelona slightly ahead.

CHANCE! Incredibly, the ball is clipped in behind Getafe's defence for Raphinha, who races towards goal. He has João Félix to his left again and this time, plays square, but the pass is too heavy and just like that, the chance is gone.

Again Barcelona play long, again Félix sprints in behind, again Soria comes out to clear and once again, the flag goes up.

2 added minutes.

Ter Stegen makes a huge error and gifts Getafe a corner as he's put under pressure. Cubarsí can't get to the pass that's aimed at him but ends up spinning wildly behind goal in a strange moment of madness for the normally secure shot stopper.

CHANCE! Getafe again. Frenkie De Jong slides in as Borja Mayoral races towards goal. The former Real Madrid striker had drawn back his leg just as the Dutchman went to ground to stop a certain goal.

CHANCE! Alderete goes for goal from a huge distance and forces Ter Stegen into an acrobatic catch. The photo will make a nice laptop screensaver for the German.

CHANCE! And it's absolutely huge for Raphinha, whosends the 1vs1 effort into the stands behind the goal. In almost a carbon copy of his goal, the winger races in behind, but he gets his foot under the ball as João Félix screams for the horizontal pass. 

Five to go of normal time.

Kounde eventually clears but hearts are in mouths as Rico gets the better of the full-back, who scrambles back to chase a long ball. 

The yellow is out and it's for Gundogan, who is having an argument with Alderete: the German thinks he was fouled earlier on.

CHANCE! Ilaix challenges for a high ball but his jump is more horizontal than vertical, and he crashes into Christensen. Nothing is given and Barcelona attack, with Soria eventually getting in the way of João Félix's shot from the edge of the box.

CHANCE! Raphinha plays across goal and Lewandowski can't get there. It falls to Félix a few yards out but Milla wins the battle and fires the ball up the pitch.

Milla and João Félix are having a lovely battle out there, and I don't think the two will be sending Easter eggs to each other come next month.

The Barcelona fans (and Xavi) aren't happy after Getafe are given a free-kick on halfway, given Milla was all over João Félix in the previous action.

Barcelona defend a series of Getafe corners but the nerves have crept back into the blaugrana defence after the pressure builds once again from the away side.

CHANCE! Raphinha plays a sensational cross with his toe towards Gundogan who can't get on the end of the ball. There are inches in it and it could well have put them two up.

Soria races off his line to clear away after Lewandowski is almost played in behind again. The clipped passes into the space behind the centre-backs is working a treat for Xavi's team.

De Jong and Lewandowski are down after some tough tackling from Getafe. They both look OK to continue.

Lewandowski tries to pop the ball through the legs of a Getafe defender on halfway, something that would've seen João Félix put through. In the end, it's solid defending from the away side, who get back well.

Getafe have momentarily dropped into a 5-2-3 with Milla a temporary centre-back as Barça come again.

Back underway.

It's as simple as you like: Kounde, from right back, chips a pass in behind Getafe's defence and Raphinha bursts through to control, take a touch and slot past Soria in a 1vs1.

RAPHINHA

CHANCE! Juan Iglesias smashes a shot towards goal that deflects wide off Kounde. The Getafe players want a penalty but it looked tohave hit his chest.

CHANCE! Cubarsí sends the ball behind after connecting with a low cross thundered in from the left by Rico. Mayoral had split the defence with a driving run and looked to be getting on the end of the cross.

Gastón saves Getafe and tackles Raphinha beautifully as the Brazilian races onto the end of another long ball from the home side.

I've just caught a glimpse of João Félix's face as he comes closer to Xavi for some instructions. He wasn't, let's say, happy.

Remind me to check Borja Mayoral's total distance run after the game: he looks like he's already done a 5k sprint.

Barcelona play Getafe at their own game and hoof a long ball over the top towards João Félix, but he can't control it as it falls from the sky.

The football being played by Bordalás' side will not cause the neutral to fall in love, but it's certainly effective and is putting their opponents under pressure to defend in a style they're not used to.

Getafe come again and Greenwood slips inside the box with the ball before losing out to Araujo. Barcelona are not comfortable in the opening stages.

Iglesias gets under the ball and makes a connection that threatens to hit the International Space Station. Mayoral chases and almost collects, but Ter Stegen is well placed to step out and catch the bouncing ball.

CHANCE. Raphinha gets on the corner that is finally taken and his volley fizzes over Soria's goal.

Lewandowski has gone to ground twice in the time since the ball went out to the corner being taken. Gastón is giving him a nice battle.

Barcelona win the first corner of the game after a nice touch from Lewandowski threatens to take the ball around Gastón, who clears it away.

CHANCE. Greenwood cuts inside on his left foot and fires a low drive towards Ter Stegen from distance. The German gets down well to collect.

A long ball over the top of Getafe's defence is met by Soria, who takes a sigh of relief as the linesman raises his flag to stop João Félix charging him down.

Getafe give Barcelona their first taste of what this game is going to be like: the away side's defensive block is deployed as Ter Stegen gets his first touches and the Catalans begin to probe like curious aliens.

Wow, that was fast. A long ball over the Barça defence is swept up by the wind and almost finds Borja Mayoral.

Barça counter and Cancelo sees his cross from the left blocked.

AND WE'RE OFF!

The ball is rolling in Barcelona.

A final reminder of the two teams:

FC BARCELONA

GK: Ter Stegen

DEF: Kounde - Cubarsí - Araujo - Cancelo

MID: De Jong - Gundogan - Christensen

ATT: Raphinha - Lewandowski - Félix

GETAFE

GK: Soria

DEF: Djené - Alderete - Gastón - Iglesias

MID: Ilaix - Maksimovic - Milla

ATT: Greenwood - Mayoral - Rico

HERE COME THE PLAYERS!

The stadium is still filling up as the players finally make their way out of the tunnel!

We're still waiting on the players to emerge

We've had quite the wait ahead of kick-off as the final preparations come to an end; as I type this, it looks like a storm is on its way from the north. 

Here come the players!

I can hear the 'clack' of the studs on the tunnel floor as the players make their way out of the dressing room and into the tunnel!

The poll is over!

Well, you've had your say and it looks lie Barcelona are the slight fans' favourite to take the three points!

Talent on the bench

With just minutes to go until kick-off, LaLiga's social media camera has spotted a trio of Barça youngsters hanging out right behind where Xavi is due to sit on the sidelines.

Keep an eye on: Borja Mayoral

Mayoral has scored 15 goals this season and has won 14 points for his side.

The 26-year-old never found his forever home at Real Madrid, but he seems to have done so for Getafe, just down the road.

He's certainly worth keeping an eye on for today's game and even more so given the fact that Pau Cubarsí, as good as he is, doesn't have a lot of experience at this level.

Getafe to play in all white

The away side, given their home kit is blue and would clash with Barcelona, are going to be sporting an all-white kit for the game today.

Not long to go...

The atmosphere is building in a sunny Barcelona as the two squads are undergoing their pre-game warmup routines. Fans are dripping into their seats and the noise levels are rising!

Deco pre-game quotes:

It's a tough game, we're near the end of the season and all the games are like this.

Getafe are a well organised team, and the coach knows what he wants. But we're at home and we'll try to have a good game.

We have to think about today (not Xavi's future). We want to keep adding points to the league table.

Barcelona's DNA is playing well and having good players. Lots of players and managers have been here but the style is always there, there's no arguments about that.

BARCELONA

Will Ter Stegen leave Barcelona? How much has been offered to the Barcelona goalkeeper from Saudi Arabia?

Reports suggest that Barcelona’s number one goalkeeper, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, has received an offer from Saudi Arabia, who continue their scattergun approach to buying up the best talent in the sport.

The report comes from Achraf Ben Ayad, who writes for Catalan media outlet, Mundo Deportivo. His tweet, written in both Arabic and Spanish, says the following: “Exclusive: Ter Stegen has received a very interesting offer from Saudi Arabia”.

Given the lack of information at this time, we cannot be sure of the amount of money Barcelona have been offered - if any at all - as well as the wage packet potentially offered to the player. 

Ter Stegen’s contract at Barcelona ends in 2028, meaning that his current club would certainly have the upper hand if they were to enter into negotiations over a potential sale.

A reminder of the starting XIs:

If you've just joined us, here's how the two teams are set to start the game:

FC BARCELONA

GK: Ter Stegen

DEF: Kounde - Cubarsí - Araujo - Cancelo

MID: De Jong - Gundogan - Christensen

ATT: Raphinha - Lewandowski - Félix

GETAFE

GK: Soria

DEF: Djené - Alderete - Gastón - Iglesias

MID: Ilaix - Maksimovic - Milla

ATT: Greenwood - Mayoral - Rico

BARCELONA

Ex-Real Madrid midfielder Rafael van de Vaart: Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong “plays soccer like a postman”

Frenkie ‘plays like a postman’: “Frenkie de Jong plays soccer like a postman. He takes too long to pass the ball forward, instead he keeps running with it and takes it to his teammate. Once you get away from your opponent, you have to keep the ball moving and pass the ball!”

This is what former Real Madrid midfielder Rafael van der Vaart had to say about Dutch midfielder De Jong when asked during the week.

Barça forward finally finding form

RobertLewandowksi looks to have finally found his scoring bootssince the turn of the year and appears to be back to his best, most lethal form ahead of the game today. 

As Opta point out, he's scored a total of 9 goals since the start of 2024, with only Real Mad--, sorry, PSG forward Kylian Mbappé ahead of him.

LALIGA

Getafe 0-0 Barcelona: summary, score, goals, highlights LaLiga 2023-24

What happened last time?

It’s safe to say that the last game between these two sides was not a classic for the neutral.

The game was the pure definition of attritional and played at Getafe’s pace, who drew Barcelona into a match of individual battles which ended up seeing both Raphinha and Xavi sent off. 

Goals were not the order of the day as a million minutes of added time were put on the clock once it ticked over the 90 minute mark; Xavi will certainly not be hoping for a repeat of that game today.

Xavi pre-game highlights:

How things look for Getafe:

Getafe are, as things stand, the definition of mid-table. 

They are 17 points from relegation and 6 points from Europe, which sounds like a possibility, but there are 4 teams in their way if the Madrid side want to make a late push for continental football.

Getafe XI revealed:

It's a full strength XI from Bordalás who starts former Barcelona midfielder Ilaix Moriba in midfield.

Here's Barcelona's starting XI:

João Félix starts as does Pau Cubarsí in a strong XI from Xavi.

Have your say!

What's going to happen?

Are Barcelona going to continue their run of positive results or can Getafe stifle the Catalans for the second time this season?

Want to watch?

Here’s how you can feast your eyes on the action as it unfolds, as well as keep an eye on the live text coverage for when the camera inevitably cuts away.

Here's how things look for Barcelona:

Well, would you look at that: Barcelona are just two points from second place where Girona have had a recent wobble (due to having to play probably the most difficult away games in LaLiga, Real Madrid and Athletic Club). 

Despite the performances, the points have trickled in and they’ve secured 10 from 12 since Xavi announced his departure, as well as a 1-1 away draw against Napoli in the Champions League.

Real Madrid are still the team to catch, but they’re 8 points ahead and would need a serious stumble with the trophy in sight for Barcelona’s most optimistic fans to be thinking of a title race.

Barcelona arrive at Montjuïc...

We should have the team news shortly as Barcelona have just arrived at their home stadium ahead of kick-off.

Loyalty knows no bounds!

The Getafe fans have made the 500km trip east to Barcelona to support their team. While the home ground - the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez - might not be Spain's most intimidating atmosphere, the Madrid side do have a loyal core of fans.

Who's the ref?

Alejandro Muñiz Ruiz is the man with the whistle today, which is bad news for your team!  The 32-year-old Galician is fairly new to LaLiga, and has a total of 49 top division encounters under his belt. In those games, he’s given out 270 yellows and 9 reds.

Wait, that's not Camp Nou...

As you may have noticed this season, Barcelona are not playing their home games at Camp Nou this year, and have moved to Montjuïc. 

The Catalan side’s regular home stadium is undergoing something of a facelift (that’s putting it lightly) and as such, the side are playing at the old Olympic stadium. 

It’s not ideal as the atmosphere is poor and the stands don’t exactly make it look like Mestalla, but once the Camp Nou is complete, it will be one of the world’s top sport venues, so I guess it’s worth the wait.

Getafe team news

José Bordalás has Mauro Arambarri out for the game today, while Angileri is a doubt.

Barcelona team news

Marcos Alonso, Gavi and Balde are all out of contention today, with Ferran a doubt.

The good news is that João Félix and Oriol Romeu made their comebacks against Napoli, meaning they’re both in contention to see more minutes on the pitch.

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to the live text coverage from AS USA of match day 26 in LaLiga EA Sports, where we’ve got Barcelona hosting Getafe.

It’s Joe here today to guide you through the action as it unfolds on Spain’s east coast.