A primary-half objective from prime scorer Robert Lewandowski secured a 1-0 La Liga victory for a depleted Barcelona towards struggling Getafe on Wednesday, preserving their excellent report intact after seven matches.
With key gamers like Pedri resting and accidents sidelining Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Dani Olmo, Gavi, Frenkie de Jong, Ronald Araujo, Fermin Lopez and Andreas Christensen, Barcelona took the lead within the nineteenth minute.
Lewandowski capitalized on a blunder by Getafe goalkeeper David Soria, who did not catch a cross from Jules Kounde. Lurking within the field, Lewandowski seized the chance and netted his seventh objective of the season.
The hosts dominated the proceedings with virtually 80% possession and 16 objective makes an attempt however wasted quite a few alternatives to win by a wider margin.
Soria made positive saves to disclaim efforts from Lamine Yamal, Lewandowski and three from Raphinha, who additionally missed a sitter within the 82nd minute, badly misfiring a header from a Kounde cross.
Barcelona virtually paid a heavy worth for his or her missed possibilities, because the guests might have scored an equalizer within the dying moments.
Getafe fullback Juan Iglesias discovered Borja Mayoral unmarked contained in the field throughout a fast counterattack, however the striker sliced his first-time effort within the ninety fifth minute.
Barcelona are on the prime of the standings with 21 factors, 4 forward of second-placed Real Madrid. Getafe sit second from the underside with 4 factors.
“When you dominate a game but go only one goal ahead, the opponent sees a possibility of making a run for a better result, and often that leads them to push you harder in the last minutes,” Kounde informed Movistar Plus.
“But we played a good, controlled game and could have scored more goals. Sometimes it happens; you can’t always win by a big goal difference. Getafe are always a difficult team to handle. It may have cost us more than usual, but we had chances to win the game more comfortably.”
Barcelona will now go to seventh-placed Osasuna on Saturday earlier than internet hosting Young Boys within the Champions League subsequent week, trying to rebound following a 2-1 loss of their opening match at Monaco.
Source: www.dailysabah.com