Goals from Antoine Griezmann and Sergi Roberto saw Barcelona beat Getafe 2-1 at Camp Nou on Saturday to move provisionally level with Real Madrid on top of LaLiga, but the Catalans were made to work hard for their victory.
Getafe, in impressive form and in third place in the table, made life difficult for Quique Setien’s side as they pressed high in the opening minutes.
Jose Bordalas’ men thought they had taken the lead when Allan Nyom fired in a loose ball from a corner after Marc-Andre ter Stegen had saved a Jorge Molina header on 24 minutes, but the defender had fouled Samuel Umtiti in the build-up and the strike was ruled out by VAR.
Barca then took the lead 10 minutes later when Lionel Messi played a first-time pass into the area for Griezmann and the French forward dinked a fine finish over the onrushing David Soria.
Sergi Roberto then doubled Barca’s advantage after 39 minutes when he hit a low shot into the corner at the far post after a cross from Junior Firpo, who had replaced the injured Jordi Alba at left-back.
The Catalans looked comfortable for much of the second half, but substitute Angel Rodriguez - a transfer target for Barca as they look to bring in a player to replace long-term injury victim Ousmane Dembele - gave Getafe a lifeline after 66 minutes when he hit a brilliant volley into the corner from a Jaime Mata cross with Ter Stegen unable even to react.
Getafe then came close to a leveller following an almighty scramble on the Barca line, which saw Ter Stegen palm the ball away after Sergio Busquets had almost turned into his own net.
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