Barcelona is doing exactly what was previously excluded in Madrid


Sunday, May 15, 2022 at 9:28 PM• Jeroen van Poppel • Last update: 21:34

Barcelona played their least spectacular game of the season on Sunday evening. Xavi’s team secured second place in LaLiga by a point against Getafe, while the Madrid opponent had enough to draw on a draw to feel safe. A salon draw was ruled out in advance by both sides, but after only one attempt on Barcelona’s goal, little else can be concluded about the result of the lackluster game: 0-0. The big blemish on the night before Barça was the withdrawal of Memphis Depay after 68 minutes.

Making the lineup was again a big puzzle for Xavi, who still has to do without a large number of names. Barcelona is particularly badly damaged in defence, as Gerard Piqué, Eric García Ronald Araújo, Sergiño Dest and Sergi Roberto are struggling with various injuries. In addition, Jordi Alba, like Frenkie de Jong, was suspended for the meeting with Getafe. The defense for goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen therefore looked very improvised, while the suspended Frenkie de Jong in midfield was replaced by Riqui Puig.

There was little at stake for both Getafe and Barca on Sunday evening, although the home side still had a small fear of relegation. Xavi relied on the individual qualities of Depay and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the vanguard, but in a duel without interests, the visitors made a faded impression in the first company. Barcelona did not even score a single shot on David Soria’s goal before half-time. Getafe also turned out to be offensively impotent on the other side, although the team of trainer Quique Sánchez Flores was mainly due to a lack of quality.

Worthy of note was Ansu Fati’s substitute after an hour of play. The wing striker is very calm after two years of serious injuries and came in for the fourth time in a row. Each time, the number of playing minutes of Fati is slightly increased. The top talent was on the field for less than ten minutes when Depay made a substitution gesture to the side. The the Dutch striker was unable to continue after a tap in the rib cage and was replaced by Luuk de Jong. However, the Barcelona pinchhitter did not get further than a meager ball contact.

No. Team m W G V † Pnt
1 Real Madrid 37 26 7 4 49 85
2 Barcelona 37 21 10 6 32 73
3 Atletico Madrid 37 20 8 9 21 68
4 Seville 37 17 16 4 22 67
5 Real Betis 37 19 7 11 22 64
6 Real Sociedada 36 16 11 9 3 59
7 Villarreal 36 15 11 10 25 56
8 Athletic Club 37 14 13 10 8 55
9 Osasuna 37 12 11 14 -12 47
10 Celta de Vigo 37 12 10 15 2 46
11 Valencia 37 10 15 12 -7 45
12 Rayo Vallecano 37 11 9 17 -9 42
13 Espanyol 37 10 11 16 -13 41
14 getafe 37 8 15 14 -6 39
15 Elche 37 10 9 18 -14 39
16 Granada 37 8 13 16 -17 37
17 Real Majorca 37 9 9 19 -29 36
18 Cadiz 37 7 15 15 -17 36
19 Levante 37 7 11 19 -27 32
20 Alaves 37 8 7 22 -33 31