Madrid, Sep 26 (IANS) FC Barcelona continued their 100 percent start to the season in La Liga with a 1-0 win at home to Getafe, who remain in the bottom three and without a win
Inaki Pena made his first appearance of the season in the Barcelona goal after Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s knee injury at the weekend, but had little work to do against a rival that created little danger until the last minute of the game.
Robert Lewandowski put Barca ahead after 19 minutes when he hooked home a loose ball after Getafe goalkeeper David Soria made a mess of a Jules Kounde cross from the right, reports Xinhua.
The second half continued with Barcelona in control, with Lamine Yamal hitting the bar with a left-foot shot and Raphinha drawing an excellent save from Soria.
It was only in the closing minutes of the game that Getafe created any real clear chances, but in the 95th minute Borja Mayoral missed from around eight yards out with only Pena to beat after a low cross from the right.
It was a huge let-off for Barca, whose next game is away to Osasuna on Saturday night.
In Thursday’s first game, Rayo Vallecano held Girona to a 0-0 draw in Girona’s Montilivi Stadium.
Girona pressed hard for a winner, especially in the second half, but failed to hit the target, although they were unlucky to see Yaser Asprilla hit the crossbar with a powerful shot from outside the penalty area.
Real Madrid won 3-2 at home to Alaves on Tuesday, while Atletico Madrid have a difficult visit to Celta Vigo on Thursday.
–IANS
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