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Match

Marcador del partit

Date: Sunday, 23 Nov
Competition: ???label.competicio0???
Stadium: Camp Nou, Barcelona

Resultat:

FC Barcelona: 1
Getafe CF: 1

Match report

Match Report
Pre-Match

Match Report

More info

Goals

0-1, Manu del Moral (19th min)
1-1, Keita (71st min)

Persistence brings a point (1-1)

Jordi Clos

Barça has drawn with Getafe in a game in which they had to come from behind after Manu put the visitors ahead in the first half. Keita equalised in the second half with a fine header.

Barça’s extraordinary run of nine wins on the bounce in the League came to an end against Getafe. The Madrid outfit were always dangerous on the break and went one up in the first half. Thereafter they made things really hard for Guardiola’s men who were unable to play their usual scintillating game. With Messi sidelined, the Catalans gave their all but lacked the fluency which would have enabled them to add to a record-breaking start to the season. It took them until the 71st minute to equalise when Keita scored with a great header. Then Piqué almost scored the winner only to see his header palmed away by the visitor’s keeper.

Getafe take the lead

A well-drilled Getafe that was determined to hold onto the ball meant that Barça found it hard to impose their style of play. At first Getafe’s approach came as something of a surprise to the Catalans, who were unable to make one of the blistering starts seen in recent games at Camp Nou. And in fact it was to be the visitors who opened the scoring in the 19th minute when Manu del Moral slipped home a drive from the edge of the area just inside Valdés’s left-hand post at the end of a counterattack.

Bouncing back

Barça were now behind for the first time at home and bounced back by stepping up the tempo. Bojan, playing wide out on the right, had the first couple of clear chances in the 21st and 31st minutes. Next up was Sylvinho who forced Pato to make a good save with a shot from the corner of the box. Not to be outdone, Eto’o then rattled the Getafe crossbar with a powerful drive, and when half-time came the game should perhaps have been all square.

Reworking the flanks

Getafe really needed the half-time break as they had been put under the cosh. They regrouped and came out for the second half to launch some dangerous counterattacks. Seeing that the game was now in a similar situation to the start of the first half, Pep Guardiola reworked the flanks of Barça’s attack by bringing on Henry and Pedro for Bojan and Hleb. Barça’s first chances in the second half came in the 62nd minute when both Piqué and Henry went close.

Keita equalises

The Catalans’ attacking play finally brought its reward with an equaliser in the 71st minute. In one of the best moves of the game, Alves whipped in an excellent cross which Keita headed into the back of the net. Barça then laid siege to the Getafe goal and pinned the visitors in their own half for much of the last part of the match.

No luck

All-out attack almost got its three-point reward in the 80th minute when Piqué’s header from a corner was somehow palmed away by Pato. The final 1-1 score line means the League leaders have had to make do with just a point, though this also means they keep their three-point lead over the second placed side, which is now Real Madrid.

Preview

Goals galore at Camp Nou

Barça’s scoring record at home is spectacular; 21 goals in five games, which is an average of 4.2 per match

Key points

Jordi Clos

Barça hosts Getafe (19.00, TV3, La Sexta and R@dio Barça) right before a series of especially tough games. After the midweek international fixtures, the team is determined to continue with its record-breaking start to the League.

Starting next week and continuing up to the end of the year, League leaders Barça have four matches in a row against the teams that are right behind them in the table: Seville, Valencia, Madrid and Vila-real. This tough series of games , which all sides have to go through, is known for obvious reasons as ‘Everest’ or ‘the Pyrenees’. Before that, however, this evening the Catalans are hosting Getafe and are determined to pick up another three points before beginning their assault on the mountain.

Best start ever

The best way of doing that will be to continue playing as they have done so far. With nine wins on the bounce, Pep Guardiola’s men have broken the record for the best start to a League season in the club’s history. But their football is not only effective; it’s also attractive, with 36 goals in 11 games (a record far better than their rivals). Plus they are also rock solid in defence, having conceded the fewest goals alongside Seville at just eight.

Badly timed break

The Getafe game is made more difficult by the fact that eight Barça players have been away on international duty this week, which meant the team wasn’t able to train as a unit until Friday. Plus switching over to club games after playing for your country can sometimes be difficult. However, the last time Barça was faced with a similar situation they picked up all three points in a 0-1 win away at Athletic Bilbao.

Messi’s niggle

Fortunately all Guardiola’s players came back uninjured from their international fixtures and will be available for the Getafe game. Though doubts have been raised about Leo Messi in recent days as the Argentine has felt some discomfort in his right thigh muscle, a medical examination has ruled out injury. That means that the only players who are definitely sidelined are Andrés Iniesta, Éric Abidal and Jorquera.

Set piece ploys

It was of course Messi who scored the goal from a training ground move to put Barça ahead in the club’s last outing at Huelva. The Catalans have certainly been working on their set pieces as they have scored eight times so far this season in the League from dead ball situations. However, Víctor Muñoz’s Getafe will be trying to make sure they don’t increase that number this evening.

Getafe need points

Ex-Barça player Muñoz returns to Camp Nou with his side in trouble, especially after a run of poor form in recent games. After losing against Valencia and Seville at home, Getafe are coming to Barcelona without Belenguer, who pulled out at the last moment, while there are doubts as to whether Gavilán will be able to play. They also need to pick up their first points as they attempt to scale their own Everest.

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