Real Madrid have reduced the deficit on Barcelona at the summit of the Spanish La Liga table to four points thanks to a hard-fought 1-0 win away to Getafe at the Estadio Coliseum on Wednesday night.
Following Barcelona’s victory over Mallorca a day earlier, Madrid needed to keep touch with the league leaders and they had Arda Guler to thank as his sole strike secured the points.
Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti made six changes to his starting eleven with an eye on Saturday’s Copa del Rey Final against Barcelona, with Jude Bellingham settling for a spot on the bench while Kylian Mbappe missed out with an ankle problem.
The visitors grabbed the opener following a quick break in the 21st minute. It seemed like Vinicius Jr had squandered a fine opportunity but Guler finished off with a rifled effort that beat Getafe goalkeeper David Soria despite getting a hand to it.
The strike was Arda Guler’s second league goal of the ongoing campaign.
Endrick, who was making his first start, almost scored when Vinicius Jr put him one-on-one with David Soria, but his shot was cleared off the line by Djene Dakonam.
Getafe came close to snatching a draw deep into stoppage time, but Thibaut Courtois produced a brilliant save to keep out Alvaro Rodriguez’s low effort.
Victory sees Los Blancos trail leaders Barcelona by four points with five games remaining, with both rival set to play each other on 11th May.
As for Getafe, they remain 12th on the log – seven points off the European places and seven points above the relegation zone.