Arda Güler’s first-half strike proved decisive as Real Madrid secured a crucial, albeit narrow, 1-0 victory away to Getafe in La Liga on Wednesday night. The win cuts Barcelona’s lead at the top of the table back to four points.
With Saturday’s Copa del Rey final against Barcelona looming, coach Carlo Ancelotti made six changes to the side that exited the Champions League last week. Jude Bellingham started on the bench, while Kylian Mbappé missed out entirely due to an ankle issue.
Despite the rotations, Madrid took the lead in the 21st minute. Turkish youngster Güler finished off a swift break with a well-struck shot from the edge of the area that goalkeeper David Soria got a hand to but couldn’t keep out.
Brazilian teenager Endrick, making his first La Liga start, was denied a debut goal shortly after when Djene Dakonam made a superb goal-line clearance after Soria had partially saved his effort.
Real Madrid were far from their clinical best and Getafe created chances to equalize in the second half. Substitute Álvaro Rodríguez went close with a header before Mauro Arambarri dragged a shot wide when well-placed. A
t the other end, Soria denied Vinícius Júnior, who opted to shoot rather than pass to teammates in better positions.
The match was briefly halted with around 13 minutes remaining after Real Madrid midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni reported alleged racist language from the crowd to the referee.
A message requesting fans to refrain from such behaviour was subsequently played over the stadium’s public address system.
Getafe almost snatched a point in the sixth minute of stoppage time, but Thibaut Courtois produced an excellent save to deny Rodríguez’s low shot on the turn.
“Fede [Valverde, who scored the winner against Athletic Bilbao on Sunday] has a very unusual shot… We’ve been telling him for years: ‘shoot, shoot’,” Courtois commented after that previous game, highlighting Madrid’s need for goals from midfield, which Güler provided tonight.
The victory moves Real Madrid to 72 points, four behind leaders Barcelona (76 points) with five La Liga games remaining – including a potentially decisive ‘Clásico’ between the two sides on May 11th.
Getafe remain 12th in the standings.7 Real Madrid now turn their full attention to Saturday’s Copa del Rey final against Barcelona in Seville.
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