Joselu at the double as Real Madrid climb to summit of LaLiga with win over Getafe
Los Blancos were forced to come from behind in each of their previous two matches in La Liga, but they looked comfortable in the early stages here. After Vinicius Junior’s low shot was smartly saved by David Soria after the Brazilian raced ahead of the defence, the visitors broke the deadlock.
A silky passage of play made its way out to Lucas Vazquez on the right-hand side, and the winger-turned-fullback whipped in a precise cross for Joselu to head down past Soria for the opener.
Having already relinquished their status as having conceded a league-low six goals at home prior to this one, there was every chance that the hosts would leak a second before the break.
Vazquez again combined with Joselu, who this time struck towards a Soria-guarded bottom corner, before the Getafe stopper was lucky that his defender was able to block Joselu’s effort after he made a mess of a headed clearance.
The Azulones kept it at one, however, and some promising play just before the HT whistle no doubt inspired Jose Bordalas’ men going into the second period.
One player who was especially motivated by that was Mason Greenwood, and the Englishman came out of the tunnel to fire against the post within minutes of the restart. The Manchester United loanee continued to trouble, but his side were hit by a sucker punch from Ancelotti’s men.
Vinicius took advantage of Ferland Mendy’s marauding run to slip through Joselu, who fired back across goal for his and Real Madrid’s second.
Fans were in disbelief that Vinicius didn’t make it three when Soria denied him again one-on-one, and that seemingly gave the home side confidence to make a game of the final minutes
In fact, LaLiga joint top-scorer Borja Mayoral was next to strike the post for Getafe, doing so after Luis Milla put him in acres of space in the area. Greenwood soon struck wide too, but the win was ultimately comfortable for the visitors, who recorded an eighth league away game unbeaten to move two points clear in their quest for a 36th La Liga crown.
For Getafe, any outside chances of European football for the first time since 2019/20 are beginning to look slim, but fans shouldn’t be too discouraged by the evening’s performance against Spanish football royalty.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Joselu (Real Madrid)