Real Madrid beat Getafe to go top of LaLiga
Sports Desk, Oct 8 (EFE).- Real Madrid eked out a 1-0 victory against Getafe on Saturday to reclaim first place in LaLiga from Barcelona eight days before the heavyweights of Spanish football meet in the first Clasico of the 2022-2023 campaign.
The defending champion Blancos are 3 points ahead of the Catalan club, who can go level with a win Sunday against 11th-place Celta Vigo.
Eder Militao put Real Madrid ahead in the 3rd minute at Getafe, redirecting Luka Modric’s corner past goalkeeper David Soria.
The visitors would go on to outshoot the hosts 19-9, but never managed to get the second goal that would have killed off the contest.
Modric and Fede Valverde sent shots over the cross-bar in the first half and two second-half goals were disallowed. The first, by Vinicius Jr., was erased because the ball went out of play in the buildup, while Rodrygo’s goal fell victim to an offside call.
The Blancos’ cross-town rivals, Atletico Madrid, prevailed 2-1 over Girona with a brace from Angel Correa and some timely stops by keeper Jan Oblak.
Atleti moved up to fourth, but are just 1 point better than Real Betis, who will be at 15th-place Valladolid on Sunday.
Sevilla’s first outing since the return of Jorge Sampaoli as coach saw them drop points at home against third-place Athletic. The hosts went ahead in the 4th minute on a goal by Oliver Torres, but Mikel Vesga brought the Bilbao club level in the 73rd.
The point was enough for Sevilla – who finished fourth last season – to climb out of the drop zone to 17th. EFE jap/dr
