Top News

La Liga: Real Madrid suffer title race blow with shock home loss to Getafe
Sanjeev Kumar | March 3, 2026 1:21 PM CST

New Delhi: Martin Satriano’s sensational first-half volley earned Getafe a stunning 1-0 victory at Real Madrid in LaLiga on Monday. The loss to Real helped Barcelona gain a four-point lead at the top of the standings.

Real controlled the game from kick-off and dominated possession too, but failed to convert pressure into goals. The record La Liga champions squandered several chances in a bad-tempered fixture at the Santiago Bernabeu and lost at home to Getafe for the first time in 18 years.

Alvaro Arbeloa’s side were left to rue their profligacy in the 39th minute when a half-cleared cross was rifled into the top left corner by Satriano, who struck a clean volley from the edge of the box.

Things went from bad to worse for Real when Argentine midfielder Franco Mastantuono was shown a straight red card for dissent in the stoppage time, while Adrian Liso was sent off two minutes later for the visitors.

Barcelona’s lead stretches to four points as Real lose ground in the title race

Real missed the chance to cut Barcelona’s lead at the top by one point with the shocking loss. Barcelona sit atop the standings on 64 points, with Real second on 60. Meanwhile, Getafe are 11th with 32 points.

Real were hampered by the injuries to Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Eder Militao. Their absence forced Real manager Arbeloa to rotate heavily and hand 18-year-old midfielder Thiago Pitarch his first senior start.

Getafe played ugly and disrupted Real‘s rhythm with a series of tactical fouls.

However, Real managed to create a superb chance, and Vinicius Jr should have put the hosts ahead in the 13th minute when he raced clear on the counter-attack. However, goalkeeper David Soria blocked his close-range effort with a superb right-footed save.

Soria was called into action in the 24th minute, and the Getafe goalkeeper turned saviour again, producing a one-handed stop to deny Arda Guler after the Turkish midfielder beat three defenders on a sensational run into the box.

In the 39th minute, Real paid the price after failing to clear a cross as Satriano, playing his seventh match since joining on loan from French side Lyon in January, was the quickest to react outside the box and volleyed home through a thunderous strike.

The Bernabeu crowd booed the home side at halftime as Arbeloa brought in Dani Carvajal, Dean Huijsen and Rodrygo, but the changes had little impact on the game.

Real continued the forward charge but struggled to break down Getafe’s deep five-man defence as the visitors held firm.

 


READ NEXT
Cancel OK