Real Madrid kept pace with Spanish league leader FC Barcelona on Wednesday (Apr 23) with a 1-0 win at Getafe ahead of the rivals’ meeting in the Copa del Rey final. Arda Guler scored a first-half goal for Madrid, who moved back within four points of Barcelona. The Catalan club edged Mallorca 1-0 on Tuesday.
Arda Guler scored the only goal as Real Madrid defeated Getafe to cut FC Barcelona's lead at the top of LaLiga to four points.
After suffering elimination from the UEFA Champions League at the hands of Arsenal last week, Carlo Ancelotti and his players were under growing pressure to make something of this season.
A composed – if unspectacular – performance on a night when nothing but a win would do eased anxieties somewhat.
Jude Bellingham started on the bench as Ancelotti made six changes to his team with an eye on Saturday's Copa del Rey final against Barcelona, while Kylian Mabppe missed out with an ankle issue.
Guler finished off a swift Real Madrid break with a rifled effort in the 21st minute that Getafe goalkeeper David Soria couldn't keep out despite getting a hand to it.
Endrick looked set to mark his first LaLiga start with a goal when Vinicius Jr put him one-on-one with Soria, but Djene Dakonam cleared off the line after the goalkeeper got a hand to the effort.
Madrid were far from their ruthless best, and were fortunate that Getafe didn't equalise after the break.
Substitute Alvaro Rodriguez first went close with a header, before Mauro Arambarri dragged a low shot wide after Rodriguez picked him out unmarked.
Madrid fashioned chances of their own, the best of which saw Vinicius ignore the runs of Bellingham and Brahim Diaz to force Soria to tip his effort over the bar.
The match paused briefly with 13 minutes remaining when the referee spoke to both managers and a police officer on the touchline after Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni approached him.
A message asking fans to avoid using racist language was subsequently played over the public announcement system.
Getafe almost snatched a draw in the sixth minute of stoppage time, but Thibaut Courtois produced a brilliant save to keep out Rodriguez's low effort on the turn.
Victory means Madrid trail league leaders Barca by four points with five games left to play – they face each other on May 11.
Getafe remain 12th, seven points off the European places and seven points above the relegation zone.
Celta win
Celta Vigo moved to seventh place by routing fifth-place Villarreal 3-0 at home with goals by Fer Lopez, Borja Iglesias and Iago Aspas. The victory ended a two-match losing streak for the Vigo team.
Villarreal, winless in two matches, played a man down from the 37th after Eric Bailly was sent off with a straight red card.
Williams scores early
Inaki Williams scored five minutes into the match to give fourth-place Athletic Bilbao a 1-0 win over Las Palmas, helping the Basque Country club to open an eight-point gap above Villarreal, who remain with a game in hand.
Las Palmas, sitting in 18th place, was coming off two wins in a row after a 12-match winless streak in the league.
Alaves moved out of the relegation zone by beating ninth-place Real Sociedad 1-0 at home with a goal by Nahuel Tenaglia in the 65th.
