An important win for the hosts
One down, seven to go
Barca went into the match under a bit of pressure after seeing Atletico, Real Madrid and Sevilla all win but still in the knowledge that the destination of the title remains in their hands.
Getafe looked like being a tricky test but Barca emerged with all three points and now have just seven games left to play. The 5-2 scoreline flattered Barca a little but Ronald Koeman’s side were comfortable, aside from a 20-minute spell after Getafe had made it 3-2.
It’s a good win that comes on the back of the Copa del Rey triumph and sets Barca up nicely ahead of a big weekend in La Liga. First up are Real Madrid who host Real Betis on Saturday night. Sevilla then play Granada, Atletico head to Athletic, and Barca are away at Villarreal.
Messi doubles leading double charge
One of the keys to Barca’s title charge is, of course, the form of captain Lionel Messi who currently looks absolutely determined to drag his team to the top of the table.
Thursday’s match saw Messi grab another double. He’s now scored a brace in four of his last six matches in all competitions for Barcelona.
Alien presence detected. #Messi #BarçaGetafe pic.twitter.com/NNGu1pPSSH
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) April 22, 2021
On another day he might have had a hat-trick too. The captain was denied by the crossbar in the opening minutes of the match and then handed over penalty-taking duties to Antoine Griezmann in stoppage time.
Messi’s goals against Getafe also tightened his grip on the Pichichi. He now has 25 in La Liga for the season, for the 12th campaign in a row, and is four clear of nearest challenger Karim Benzema.
Busquets doing the business
The Barcelona captain isn’t the only player who deserves credit for Barca’s win over Getafe, as Sergio Busquets also shone in midfield on Thursday night.
The highlight was of course the simply gorgeous pass he played through for Messi to run on to and open the scoring after just eight minutes.
That’s now four assists for Busi this season, an improvement on his last two campaigns.
Sergio Busquets now has four assists in 29 La Liga games this season.
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) April 22, 2021
More than he managed in his last two previous seasons combined (3 in 68 appearances). pic.twitter.com/tgjpPQVBWJ
The 32-year-old’s performance also drew praise from Ronald Koeman after the match who feels the 3-5-2 formation brings out the best in the midfielder.
“He’s a very smart player and very important for the team, especially because of his way of being,” he said. “Playing with three centre-backs has helped him to utilize his quality.”
Lenglet can’t catch a break
It’s a different story entirely for poor old Clement Lenglet who simply can’t catch a break this season and had another tough outing for the Catalan giants.
It all started after just six minutes when the Frenchman was harshly booked for blocking off Juan Iglesias after the Getafe full-back ran straight into him.
Clement Lenglet is the only player to have scored an own goal, been sent off and commit an error leading to an opposition goal in La Liga this season pic.twitter.com/polNBC5QF3
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) April 23, 2021
It didn’t end there though. Lenglet then gave away an own goal, deflecting Angel Rodriguez’s strike past Ter Stegen, to hand Getafe a lifeline after Messi had given Barca the perfect start.
The goal came when Oscar Mingueza was off the field receiving treatment and after some poor defending, once again, from Barca. However, it’s Lenglet who unfortunately got the decisive touch, and his misery was completed when he was hooked at half-time.
Koeman takes it out on Mingueza
Koeman opted to make two changes at half-time, bringing on Ronald Araujo and Ilaix Moriba for Lenglet and Gerard Pique. Francisco Trincao was the next to arrive but the substitutes disrupted Barca’s flow in what was a flat second half.
In fact, it all got a bit nervy when Araujo gave away a penalty and Getafe made it 3-2. The pressure was pretty telling on the touchline too when Koeman lost the post and raged at Oscar Mingueza for joining an attack and leaving the defense exposed.
Koeman's anger at Mingueza before his substitution earlier "We're playing with three!" pic.twitter.com/J0TCY46wnb
— The Spanish Football Podcast (@tsf_podcast) April 22, 2021
Koeman then proceeded to take Mingueza off and replace him with Samuel Umtiti for the last 15 minutes, although he denied after the match the substitution was because he was angry with the youngster.
The Dutchman also went on to say he’d spoken to Mingueza and “there’s no problem” but it was certainly a curious incident given the defender’s performance against Getafe and throughout the season.
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