FC Barcelona cemented top spot in LaLiga with a 1-0 victory over Getafe at the Camp Nou on Sunday evening.
LaLiga
Result: Barcelona 1-0 Getafe
Date: 22 January 2023
Venue: Camp Nou
Barcelona were without the suspended Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, with Anssumane Fati and Raphinha joining Ousmane Dembele in the attack.
Xavi's charges had a scare in the opening exchanges after Borja Mayoral found the back of the net with a strike from a rebound in the box but the goal was disallowed for offside in the build-up.
The Catalan side were patient on the ball, as their front three took time to combine and they showed their killer-instinct ten minutes before the interval after Pedri broke the deadlock with their first clear-cut chance from a cross by Raphinha.
Pedri almost went from hero to villain just before the half-time break after his back pass sent Mayoral clear on goal but goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen saved him his blushes by making himself big in a one-on-one and pulled off a crucial save.
Getafe had a better resistance coming from the half-time break and had spells of possession themselves and Xavi made a defensive change just after the hour-mark, as Raphinha was sacrificed in favour of Franck Kessie .
Barcelona dropped deep after that and allowed the visitors to pass the ball around a little further from their box and kept them at bay, with Ter Stegen well protected.
However, Blaugrana regained their control in the dying minutes and Kessie had a chance to put the result beyond doubt after going through in the box but his low shot was kept out by goalkeeper David Soria.
Barca were managing the game in the tail end, with Getafe still carrying a threat and they eventually held on to move six points clear of second-placed Real Madrid, who travel to Athletic Bilbao later in the evening.
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