El Derbi madrileño may be a forgone conclusion most years, with Atlético Madrid rolling over every time for their neighbours, but Real Madrid are always given a much tougher time by their other cross-city rivals, Getafe. Jose Mourinho’s men took to the pitch on Sunday night looking to collect three points for the first time this season. Instead they left with none.
They began comfortably when Gonzalo Higuaín – who has an excellent record against El Geta – scored from close range in the 27th minute at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez, but eight minutes after the break, the home side levelled when Juan Valera nodded past Iker Casillas from a free-kick. The visitors failed to capitalise on their long periods of possession and were made to pay the price when substitute Adrián Colunga set up Abdelaziz Barrada to smash the ball high into the net 15 minutes from time.
The defeat means Los Merengues have already slipped five points behind leaders Barcelona after only two matchdays played. Before this famous win, Getafe had lost their last seven encounters with Madrid but even Mourinho was quick to point out before the game that this derbi is never easy.
The rivalry is somewhat less ferocious than that with Atlético, as players very rarely move between the Los Colchoneros and their illustrious neighbours while several players and even managers have moved between Getafe and the Santiago Bernabéu.
This weekend alone, Getafe left-back Miguel Torres once again faced his boyhood club whereas Pedro León – who infamously fell out with Mourinho and is on a second season-long from Madrid – was barred from playing against the club that owns him due to a contract clause. Midfielder Esteban Granero who now plies his trade at the Bernabéu is another player who spent time at the Coliseum, as did Rubén de le Red and Adrián González.
Quite often, those from the reserves who are not quite ready for the big stage at the Bernabéu are sold to Getafe with a buy-back option and if they impress, as De La Red or El Pirata Granero did, they make their return.
Managers too have made the journey across town, with Bernd Schuster having a spell at the Bernabéu having made a strong impression at El Geta while ex-Real Madrid player and reserve team coach Michel moved the other way to manage at the Coliseum. In fact, Getafe President Ángel Torres is himself also a self-confessed Madridista.
But despite this respect between the rivals, make no mistake, a victory over the league champions and city rivals Real Madrid will be celebrated and live long in the memory.
In notoriously tough Pamplona, Barcelona survived a scare before coming back to beat Osasuna 2-1 at the Reyna de Navarro with a brace from Lionel Messi who took his tally to four goals in two games.
Joseba Llorente gave the hosts a 17th-minute lead when he hooked in at the far post but in the 76th minute Messi stretched to poke in an Alexis Sánchez ball, immediately after which Osasuna midfielder Patxi Puñal was shown a straight red card for protesting.
The winner came just 10 minutes from time, when Messi stroked low into the net from the edge of the area meaning Barça continue their perfect start to the season with six points from two games and top the table on goal difference.
RESULTS:
Málaga CF 1 – 1 RCD Mallorca
RCD Espanyol 1 – 0 Real Zaragoza
Real Betis 1 – 2 Rayo Vallecano
Real Sociedad 2 – 1 Celta de Vigo
Valencia CF 3 – 3 Deportivo La Coruña
Granada CF 1 – 1 Sevilla FC
Getafe CF 2 – 1 Real Madrid
Osasuna 1 – 2 FC Barcelona
Atlético Madrid 4 – 0 Athletic Bilbao
Real Valladolid 2 – 0 Levante UD
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.