Real Madrid draw, Getafe continue Champions League dream
On a day when strikers like Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio were unlucky, Real Madrid had to share points with home team Getafe.
Real Madrid have dominated Getafe in the Madrid derby over the years, but this season they have been poor away from the Bernabeu, while Getafe have been in fine form at home. In fact, Getafe have won 11 of their 13 games at the Alfonso Perez Stadium in all competitions.
However, Real unexpectedly fielded a lineup with many young players such as Reguilon, Valverde, Brahim Diaz and they entered the match quite confidently. The evidence was that in the 2nd minute, Benzema had a shot that went wide of Getafe's goal post after a good pass from Isco. In the following minutes, opportunities belonged to Valverde (7') and Brahim (21') but both of these young players' shots were inaccurate.
As for Getafe, they still did their defensive duties well, keeping Real's explosive players separated. Coach José Bordalás's team sometimes forced the visitors' defense to work quite hard with counter-attacks and simple coordination.
However, Getafe's strikers were no better than Real when they could not penetrate the opponent's net in the first half. The last notable situation of this half was Benzema's finishing in a reaching position in the 40th minute despite being unmarked.
In the second half, Real continued to control the ball. In the 54th minute, Casemiro tested goalkeeper Soria with a powerful long-range shot, but Soria flew to save Getafe.
In the following minutes, coach Zidane was forced to make personnel changes when Vazquez, Asensio and Kroos entered the field one after another. The presence of these 3 players, especially Kroos, helped Real completely control the game.
However, Real's biggest problem in this match was that their finishing still did not improve. After a 0-0 draw with Getafe, Real maintained their 3rd place in La Liga with 65 points. Meanwhile, Getafe continued their Champions League dream by ranking 4th with 55 points.
LINEUP
Getafe:Soria, Suarez, Cabrera, Gonzalez, Miquel, Olivera (Angel 57'), Maksimovic, Arambarri, Molina, Mata (Saiz 84'), Duro (Portillo 72').
Real:Navas, Nacho, Carvajal, Varane, Reguilon, Casemiro, Isco, Valverde (Kroos 78'), Diaz (Vazquez 71'), Benzema, Bale (Asensio 71').
Match results on April 26
Sevilla 5-0 Rayo Vallecano
Real Sociedad 0-1 Villarreal
Getafe 0-0 Real Madrid
