Kylian Mbappe’s late strike earned Real Madrid
a hard-fought 1–0 victory over Getafe on Sunday, restoring their
two-point cushion at the top of La Liga ahead of next weekend’s El
Clásico against Barcelona.
After Barça briefly went top with a win over Girona on
Saturday, Mbappe struck in the 80th minute to secure Madrid’s eighth
league victory of the season.
The match turned chaotic in the final stages as Getafe
had two players sent off — Allan Nyom and Alex Sancris — both for fouls
on substitute Vinicius Junior, whose introduction changed the tempo of
the game.
“Vini had a great impact… we told him this morning he
could be so important,” Madrid coach Xabi Alonso told reporters. “It
wasn’t the prettiest game, but we did what we had to do.”
Mbappe, returning from an ankle injury, was once again
decisive, scoring his 10th La Liga goal of the campaign — keeping him
top of both the league and Champions League scoring charts.
Real’s dominance was clear, but they were frustrated
by Getafe’s compact defending and the saves of goalkeeper David Soria,
who denied Rodrygo Goes and David Alaba in the first half.
The game’s momentum shifted dramatically when Nyom,
just a minute after coming on, elbowed Vinicius off the ball and was shown a
straight red card. Moments later, Arda Guler slipped a clever pass to
Mbappe, who turned and finished clinically off the post.
Getafe’s misery deepened when Sancris was dismissed
for another reckless challenge on Vinicius, leaving the hosts with nine men.
Still, they nearly equalised in stoppage time, only for Thibaut Courtois
to save Abu Kamara’s close-range effort with his knee.
“We shouldn’t give away that chance, but Thibaut did
his job,” Alonso said.
Getafe coach José Bordalás insisted Nyom’s
dismissal was harsh: “For me, it’s not a red card — yellow at most. That
decision changed the game.”
Elsewhere in La Liga, Elche held Athletic
Bilbao to a 0–0 draw to move up to seventh, Rayo Vallecano cruised
past Levante 3–0, and Real Sociedad snatched a late 1–1 draw at Celta
Vigo.
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