Barcelona moved a step closer to reclaiming the La Liga title with a spectacular 6-0 win over Getafe on Tuesday. Five of their goals were scored in a whirlwind opening period, as they moved provisionally five points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the table.
Barcelona vs. Getafe 2015 results: Blaugrana cruise to 6-0 win
Barcelona move provisionally five points clear of Real Madrid.
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Getafe's intentions were clear from the game's opening few minutes, where they packed all 11 men behind the ball and tried to stop Barcelona from finding a route to goal at all costs. Alas, their plan was undone within the first few minutes, when Luis Suárez was felled inside the area by defender Álvaro Arroyo. Lionel Messi stepped up to chip a cheeky panenka into the back of the net, breaking the deadlock.
Within 10 minutes Getafe almost surprisingly pulled level, though Barça keeper Claudio Bravo backpedaled to punch a Fredy Hinestroza lob to safety.
It proved to be the hosts’ first and last real scare of the first period, as before long they were completely out of sight. Their second goal came in the 25th minute when a deep cross by Messi was volleyed home by Suárez; a third followed three minutes later, when Neymar shrugged his shoulder, slipped his man, and slotted home from inside the area.
The fourth was the pick of the bunch, and was Barça’s third in five minutes. Xavi curled a stunning shot from the edge of the box into the top corner of the goal, and Getafe found themselves 5-0 down. The midfield veteran was involved again as they added a fifth five minutes before halftime, when he flicked a Messi ball into the path of Suárez, who curled the ball inside the far post.
Any hopes Getafe had of second-half damage control went out of the window within two minutes of the restart, when Messi swept a spectacular shot over Vicente Guaita and inside the far post.
Fortunately, that was where the humiliation stopped for Getafe, with the tempo in Barcelona's play dropping as the clock ticked on. That didn't stop them creating a few good chances, with Suárez firing over from inside the area, and a Messi free-kick tipped away by Guaita, but they couldn't add to their six-goal haul. Not too shabby.
Barcelona: Bravo; Adriano, Mathieu, Bartra, Alves; Xavi (Pedro 59’), Busquets (Roberto 46’), Rafinha; Neymar, Suárez, Messi.
Goals: Messi (9’, 47’), Suárez (25’, 40’), Neymar (28’), Xavi (30’).
Getafe: Guaita; Lago, Alexis, Velázquez, Arroyo; Rodríguez (Felip 65’), Lacen; Emi, Hinestroza, León; Babá (Ivi 49’).
Goals: None.
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