FC Barcelona's title hopes in LALIGA took a knock after being held to a 1-1 draw by Getafe on Saturday night.
LALIGA
Result: Getafe 1-1 FC Barcelona
Date: 18 January 2025
Venue: Estadio Coliseum
Hansi Flick has made just two changes from the midweek Copa del Rey action, as Frenkie de Jong and Gerard Martin made way for Marc Casado and Alejandro Balde.
The Catalan giants got off to the perfect start Jules Kounde opened the scoring after nine minutes with his second goal this week after some good work by Pedri.
Barcelona continued to dominate after taking an early lead, but they were finding it tough to carve out clear-cut openings, giving the home side some of getting back into the contest.
Getafe got back on level terms in the 34th minute after Mauro Arambarri bagged his fifth league goal by slotting from close range after Chrisantus Uche's volley was parried back into play.
The Catalan giants dominated the latter stages of the first half, but were let down by their decision-making in the final third and some good defending by Getafe.
While Barcelona pushed for the second goal, they were nearly caught out on the break after the hour mark but Uche sent his first-time strike over the crossbar after a swift counter-attack.
Flick opted for a change after the hour mark, as Gavi made for Dani Olmo in midfield while Getafe introduced Carles Perez and Yellu Santigago to freshen up their attack.
The visitors should have restored their lead with seven minutes left on the clock when Raphinha was left unmarked at the far post, however the Brazilian attacker could not direct his effort on target.
In the end, Barcelona were unable to find a winning goal and now sit five points behind league leaders Atletico Madrid while Real Madrid can move top with a win over Las Palmas on Sunday.
