Barcelona’s La Liga title ambitions suffered a setback on Saturday as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Getafe at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez.
Despite taking an early lead through Jules Kounde, the Catalans failed to break down a determined Getafe side, leaving them five points adrift of leaders Atletico Madrid.
Kounde opened the scoring in the 9th minute, capitalizing on Pedri’s clever pass and converting his rebound after David Soria’s initial save.
However, Getafe, currently 16th in the table, responded in the 34th minute when Mauro Arambarri slotted home following a parried save by Inaki Pena.
La Liga: Barcelona, managed by Hansi Flick, dominated possession but struggled to find the cutting edge against Jose Bordalas’ well-organized defense.
Robert Lewandowski, La Liga’s top scorer, was closely marked throughout, while late efforts from Raphinha and Frenkie de Jong failed to find the net.
Getafe’s resilience at home against Barcelona continues, with this being the fifth consecutive away match where the Catalans have failed to win at the venue.
The result leaves Barcelona trailing Atletico Madrid, who earlier suffered a surprise 1-0 loss to Leganes. Meanwhile, second-placed Real Madrid will have the chance to top the table on Sunday when they face Las Palmas.
Barcelona will need to regroup quickly as they aim to maintain their title push in a fiercely competitive La Liga season.