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Playing first out of the three title contenders, Barcelona needed nothing less than a win to keep any title aspirations they have alive.
After a moving tribute to Tito Vilanova, including a minutes silence, Barcelona started the game on the front foot.
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FC Barcelona
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Getafe CF
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|
|
Possession
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77%
|
23%
|
|
Total Shots
|
21
|
8
|
|
Shots on Target
|
8
|
5
|
|
Pass Accuracy
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90%
|
59%
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|
Corners
|
11
|
3
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|
Fouls
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13
|
6
|
|
Offsides
|
2
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0
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|
Yellow Cards
|
3
|
2
|
|
Red Cards
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0
|
0 |
Jordi Alba's replacement, Adriano, got the first shot of the game. Tucking in from the left wing before attempting a curled effort that have so often ended in the half of the net. But this time the effort was tame and Julio Cesar easily saved.
The story of the game seemed to be unravelling during these open stages. Barcelona with a large chunk of the possession, knocking it about between the midfielders, but Getafe sat deep and Barcelona's output was largely from crosses by Dani Alves.
Alves' floated crosses continued for the first twenty minutes and proved largely ineffective. But it was from Alves that we got the game's first goal. Another cross but this time it was smartly drilled into the path of Messi. The Argentine took the ball in his stride and placed it into the top left corner of the Getafe goal.
After the goal, Barcelona began to pick up the tempo and looked to increase their advantage. Pedro looked to have an effort towards goal but it ultimately came to nothing.
Another short period of Barcelona pressing but Getafe sitting deep eventually stopped when Getafe looked to break towards the Barça goal. Javier Mascherano slipped before bringing down his man. The referee signalled for the free kick before showing Mascherano the yellow card.
During the buildup to the free kick Sergio Busquets went down in the centre circle. The Spaniard fell awkwardly on his knee and needed attention from the medical team, as did Mascherano who hurt himself in conceding the foul. This ultimately meant that the Catalans had to defend the free kick with nine men on the field.
Getafe elected for one of the most unusual free kicks I've ever seen. A scooped through ball fell to Lafita, who controlled it with the top of his arm before firing the ball past Pinto into the net. Barcelona did temporarily looked to have been saved by the linesmen as he presumably signalled for a handball against Lafita. But the referee overruled him and gave the goal to tie the game.
The first half finished in a relatively low key as a few players needed medical assistance on the field. Deep into injury time, Barcelona got their last chance of the half. A series of intricate passes between Iniesta, Alexis and Messi led to the latter narrowly missing an Alexis squared ball which if he had got any contact would've put Barça ahead at the break.
The second half started in a similar vain to the first. Barça applying the pressure on Getafe but the visitors largely restricting them to crosses. One cross did reach Iniesta but his header went into the ground and was easily saved.
Next up was Messi, looking to score his second. A drilled shot from the edge of the area was palmed away by Julio Cesar. Messi sprinted to get onto to the rebound but was just short as the ball was cleared for a corner.
The crowd turned up the noise as they looked to help the team get a second goal. Tata Martino, who had been quiet on the bench, elected to bring on his first substitute in the 66th minute.
An unconventional switch between Javier Mascherano and Cesc Fàbregas, caused a few head scratches as Barça switched to a 3-4-3 with Busquets dropping deeper.
This tactical switch turned out to be a good decision as Fàbregas provided some directness to the team and mixed it up from the Dani Alves crosses, which had become a large part of Barcelona's attacks.
Just a minute after Cesc's introduction, Barcelona got their second. Fàbregas down the right wing slid the ball towards Pedro. The winger saw his shot blocked almost seconds after it left his boot. But the deflection was kind to Alexis Sánchez and the Chilean fired the ball into the net.
Barcelona were on course to secure the three points and had a couple more chances to score. Alves was met by a great Messi cross but he somehow headed the ball wide of the post.
After turning provider, it was next Messi who was shooting towards goal. He outran sprinted the Getafe defence and looked to chip the ball over a rushing Julio Cesar. The goalie got the slightest of touches and the ball looped over the bar.
The clocked ticked into the eightieth minute and Getafe had a great opportunity to pull level. Lacen found time in the box but hit his shot directly into the grasp of Pinto who held on.
Barça entered injury time with the win looking almost assured. But it wasn't to be as Dani Alves lost the ball on the right wing to Gavilán who crossed into the Barça box. A host of Getafe players cued up to head the ball in and it fell to Lafita who rose to score his second past Pinto. The game finished 2-2 and that's the end of Barça's title chances.
Roll Call
| Roll Call Info | |
|---|---|
| Total comments | 440 |
| Total commenters | 24 |
| Commenter list | Anders Thomassen, Barcacatalunya, Barcathebest360, Bostjan Cernensek, Eixample amigo, FCB4Ever, FCBMessi, FooFooNinja91, Harshiv Karia, Inder Methil, LA495, Maaz Rehman, NoImagination90, Sam Cooper, Som-i-Serem, Tokjee, Uncharted_Almo, ViscaViscaBarca, bamjayapani, craig00000, cule-since-1992, feeya7, rnmrqz, thriller08 |
| # | Commenter | # Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NoImagination90 | 70 |
| 2 | Bostjan Cernensek | 64 |
| 3 | Inder Methil | 64 |
| 4 | Anders Thomassen | 59 |
| 5 | thriller08 | 40 |
| 6 | FCB4Ever | 31 |
| 7 | LA495 | 25 |
| 8 | Som-i-Serem | 22 |
| 9 | feeya7 | 12 |
| 10 | rnmrqz | 10 |
