Barcelona does not stop its perfect run in La Liga and records its eighth victory in eight matches: only victory and more than four goals per match for Flick's team, which defeats Getafe 3-0. Gordon, Gabriel Jesus and Koundé seal the victory that gives Barcelona a five-point advantage over Atletico Madrid, who beat Alaves 2-1, and six points over Real Madrid. Mourinho suffers after Vinicius' red card, but Real wins 1-0 against Villarreal thanks to Diomandé. The Rayo Vallecano-Athletic match was abandoned due to objects being thrown on the pitch.
REAL MADRID-VILLARREAL 1-0
The difficulties are still evident, but Real Madrid returns to victory in La Liga, defeating Villarreal 1-0. Mourinho rotates and does not activate Vinicius Junior from the first minute, trusting Diomandé, while his team risks from the quick actions of Gueye. Mbappé responds immediately, hitting the post in the 4th minute, while also wasting a pass from Alexander-Arnold. Real Madrid controls the match and its rhythm. “Los Blancos” constantly approach the goal, but the first half ends 0-0, amid the dissatisfaction of the fans in the “Bernabeu”.
Mourinho intervened immediately at the start of the second half, bringing on Vinicius, who entered the field in the 52nd minute and immediately became dangerous. Villarreal was still in the game and Gueye tested Courtois twice, but in the 64th minute the Madrid team's goal came. The author was Diomandé, who beat his former teammate, the goalkeeper Gulacsi, after starting on the edge of the offside position. Initially, the referee disallowed the goal, but VAR corrected the decision. In the 70th minute the opposite happened, when the technology disallowed Vinicius Junior's second goal. The Brazilian had pulled Saliba's hair, so he was punished with a red card and Real was left with ten men. With only a one-goal advantage, Mourinho strengthened the defense by activating Camavinga and Dumfries, but his team was dangerous on the counterattacks and still came close to the second goal. Villarreal failed to create any danger and was defeated 1-0, remaining on eight points. Real Madrid take the win and move up to 18 points, six behind Barcelona, who have a five-point lead over Atletico Madrid. On Wednesday, the Madrid side will face Roma in the Champions League, in another exciting and crucial match for Mourinho.
BARCELONA-GETAFE 3-0
Without wasting time, Barcelona immediately takes the lead. Anthony Gordon passes two opponents and, moving towards the center, shoots with his right foot from the edge of the area. His shot is deflected by a defender and, after just 80 seconds of play, the score is 1-0 for Barcelona. Gabriel Jesus' second goal, in the 30th minute, is very similar. The striker, a former Arsenal player, recovers the ball in attack, moves towards the center avoiding two opponents and beats Soria with a beautiful right-footed shot, from the penalty spot.
Barcelona completely dominates, while the opponents never manage to get close to Joan Garcia's goal, who only made one save throughout the match. In the 73rd minute, the third goal comes, with Koundé who, alone in the center of the penalty area, only has to send the ball into the net after a brilliant cross from Lamine Yamal. The Catalans climb to 24 points in the standings, maintaining a five-point advantage over Atletico Madrid, who managed to win 2-1 in the afternoon away to Alaves, thanks to Romero's decisive goal in the 87th minute. Grimaldo in the 33rd minute and Boyé in the 45th minute + 2' scored the other two goals of the match.
