FC Barcelona lost two new points in the race for the title of champion of Spain on Saturday, once again unable to win in Getafe (1-1), a poor performance which leaves the opportunity for Real Madrid to win. fly to the top of La Liga on Sunday.
Hansi Flick’s men, who seemed euphoric at the start of the year after their success in the Spanish Super Cup final against Real (5-2), were suddenly brought back to earth on the pitch of the Coliseum, a stadium of the suburbs of Madrid which have definitely not been successful for them in recent seasons (1 defeat, 4 draws).
Well launched by a goal from French full-back Jules Koundé, found in the N.9 position by an exquisite pass from Pedri to open the scoring in two stages (9th, 1-0), the Catalans were surprised on one of the only dangerous actions from the locals, concluded with success by the former Bordeaux player Mauro Arrambari (34th, 1-1).
Ultra-dominant, as often, but uninspired offensively, Barça (3rd, 39 points) therefore does not benefit from the surprise defeat of Atlético Madrid (1st, 44 points) a few kilometers away, in Leganés (1- 0).
Author of an almost perfect start to the season, the Blaugrana club, which had a series of poor performances at the end of 2024, could find itself at the end of this 20th day seven lengths behind its great rival Real Madrid (2nd, 43 points ), opposed to Las Palmas on Sunday (4:15 p.m.).
“It’s a shame not to win this match, we had control of the game and with only one chance they scored a goal”declared Jules Koundé on Movistar. “The coach said we would have more chances, and we had more, but we weren’t precise enough”he summarized.
L’Atlético freiné
Beaten (1-0) on the lawn of its modest neighbor Leganés, Antoine Griezmann’s Atlético Madrid saw its impressive series of 15 consecutive victories come to an end.
-Atletico Madrid’s French striker Antoine Griezmann applauds at the end of the Spanish league match between Club Deportivo Leganes SAD and Club Atletico de Madrid, at Butarque Municipal stadium in Leganes, January 18, 2025 / JAVIER SORIANO / AFP
Superior in the game but without success in front of goal, despite several clear opportunities including a missed penalty by Griezmann (89th) and two strikes on the uprights (12th, 26th), Atlético, still leader for the moment, could give up their first place to his Madrid rival.
It was former Manchester City defender Matija Nastasic who scored the winning goal with a header from a corner (50th, 1-0) to explode the small Butarque municipal stadium, full to capacity to welcome the championship leader.
A setback which comes at the worst time for Diego Simeone’s men, three days before a decisive meeting in the Champions League against Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen.
Already defeated by FC Barcelona in mid-December (1-0), Leganés (15th, 22 points), promoted this season, offers itself another big blow and gives itself a little breathing room in the fight to maintain its position in to the three relegated, Espanyol Barcelona (18th, 19 points), Valladolid (19th, 15 points) and Valencia (20th, 13 points).
Earlier in the day, Sevilla FC (9th, 26 points) moved away from the bottom of the ranking and moved closer to European places by winning (2-1) in Girona (8th, 28 points). Outnumbered after the expulsion of Romain Perraud (55th), Betis Sevilla (11th, 25 points) lost (3-1) on home soil against Alavés (16th, 20 points), carried by a hat-trick from the veteran Mike Garcia.
