Real Madrid seemed to be heading for the league title at lightning speed, but Carlo Ancelotti’s team again dropped points on Sunday afternoon. The Royal came to visit Getafe in the opening phase behind and was unable to make up for that against the ultra-defensive low-flyer: 1-0 loss. At the end of December, Real did not get past Cádiz (0-0). With two more games played, the Madrilenians still have an eight-point lead over number two Sevilla.
Ancelotti made five changes from the last game of 2021 (2-1 win over Athletic Club): David Alaba, Luka Modric, Casemiro, Rodrygo and Marco Asensio replaced Nacho, Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga (suspended), Eden Hazard respectively and Vinicius Junior (corona). The game got off to a surprising start, as the least productive LaLiga side opened the scoring in the ninth minute. Éder Militão got stuck in front of his own box and lost the ball to Enes Ünal, who immediately took advantage in a one-on-one situation with Thibaut Courtois.
An unexpected lead?? Not Karim Benzema, but Enes Ünal (ex-FC Twente) opens the score on the other side: 1-0 ??#ZiggoSport #LaLiga #GetafeRealMadrid pic.twitter.com/J88dW7RwEU
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) January 2, 2022
Real didn’t seem fully awake yet, because moments later Alaba delivered a too short pass-back to Courtois; Getafe was unable to take advantage of the error this time. After that, however, the visitors got into the game better. Modric asserted himself with a bang into the right corner, where goalkeeper David Soria narrowly saved, and a shot on the crossbar after a fluid attack over several discs. Despite the ascendancy, Real failed to repair the damage sustained in the first half, much to Ancelotti’s frustration. The Italian coach was shown a yellow card shortly before half-time, after remarks on the lead due to a throw-in that he thought was wrong.
Getafe could have even taken a bigger lead at the end of the first half. Militão prevented a shot by Carles Aleñá from flying into the right corner behind Courtois. Hazard and Marcelo were brought in at halftime at Real in an attempt to turn the tide. Benzema created the first free shot chance of the second half in the 68th minute after a nice combination with Marcelo, but the shot from Real’s eye-catcher landed on the head of Jorge Cuenca. Fifteen minutes before the end, Casemiro was close on behalf of the visitors, by firing at goal from the second line. A wonderful save by Soria prevented the equalizing goal. In stoppage time, the Getafe goalie also took a header from substitute Isco.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | 20 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 24 | 46 |
| 2 | Seville | 18 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 16 | 38 |
| 3 | Real Betis | 18 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 33 |
| 4 | Rayo Vallecano | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 30 |
| 5 | Atletico Madrid | 18 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 29 |
| 6 | Real Sociedada | 18 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 29 |
| 7 | Barcelona | 18 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 28 |
| 8 | Valencia | 19 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 28 |
| 9 | Espanyol | 19 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 26 |
| 10 | Villarreal | 18 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 25 |
| 11 | Athletic Club | 19 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 24 |
| 12 | Granada | 18 | 5 | 7 | 6 | -3 | 22 |
| 13 | Osasuna | 18 | 5 | 7 | 6 | -5 | 22 |
| 14 | Celta de Vigo | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | -2 | 20 |
| 15 | Real Majorca | 18 | 4 | 8 | 6 | -10 | 20 |
| 16 | getafe | 19 | 4 | 6 | 9 | -7 | 18 |
| 17 | Elche | 18 | 3 | 6 | 9 | -9 | 15 |
| 18 | Alaves | 18 | 4 | 3 | 11 | -14 | 15 |
| 19 | Cadiz | 18 | 2 | 8 | 8 | -16 | 14 |
| 20 | Levante | 18 | 0 | 8 | 10 | -17 | 8 |