Getafe 2-4 Real Madrid - 7M sport

Getafe 2-4 Real Madrid

Posted Friday, March 26, 2010 by Goal.com

The Merengues returned to the summit of La Liga after a flood in the mini Madrid derby.

Five goals were scored in the first 40 minutes as a Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain double allowed Real Madrid to kill off the game before Dani Parejo and Pedro Leon netted consolation strikes for Getafe.

On a wet night and a soggy surface in the south of Madrid, it was El Geta who threatened first after just 50 seconds when Mario had a free header from a corner but he failed to connect cleanly.

Los Blancos quickly came out of their shells and Rafael van der Vaart sent an off-balance flying header well over despite being left with just Oscar Ustari to beat. Moments later, the Geta goalkeeper was forced into a sprawling save to push out Xabi Alonso’s low drive.

Madrid started to pile on the pressure from then on and los Azulones almost gave away a penalty on 12 minutes when Rafa handled the ball right on the edge of the box. But it mattered little for Cristiano Ronaldo when he nestled a gorgeous curling free kick into the top corner, leaving Ustari with no chance.

Ronaldo came close to his second when Gonzalo Higuain charged forward on a counter-attack, before spraying the ball to the left for the Portuguese, who checked to his right and unleashed a dipping shot which Ustari reacted to brilliantly to tip over the bar.

But on 20 minutes, Madrid would make it 2-0. Van der Vaart picked up a pass from Fernando Gago and laid it off to Higuain, who finished clinically with a left-footed shot across goal.

Two minutes later, it was 3-0. Fernando Gago carved open the shell-shocked Geta defense with a lovely through ball to Higuain, and the Argentine breezed past his marker Mario, before rounding Ustari to tap the ball into the empty net. Granero almost made it four moments later when he latched onto Xabi Alonso’s pass and rifled in a left-foot drive which Ustari did just enough to flap away.

The Argentine shot-stopper had to make another stunning reflex save just past the half hour mark to deny Sergio Ramos’ bullet header. However, there would be no stopping Madrid’s fourth goal on 36 minutes. Ronaldo danced down the right flank, shimmied and bamboozled his way past a hapless Mario before rifling in an unstoppable shot from an impossible angle.

But moments later, Getafe pulled one back in bizarre circumstances. Iker Casillas fumbled a cross but he decided to chase it down outside the box. Dani Parejo went in for a sliding challenge to rob the goalkeeper, as Pedro Leon collected the loose ball before feeding it back to Parejo to smash into the open goal past a static Madrid defence. San Iker had to hobble away for treatment on his ankle after the tackle, but he managed to continue in the second half.

Michel made a brave double switch during the break, withdrawing Jaime Gavilan and goalscorer Parejo and sending in Manu del Moral and Fabio Celestini. It did the trick as Geta looked sharper at the restart as the ‘Men In White’ predictably took their foot off the gas.

Miku nearly pulled another goal back for los Azulones on the hour mark when Manu’s low cross found Miku, but the striker blasted his shot well over from three yards out. Pedro Leon and Rafa were the presented with scoring opportunities, but neither managed to trouble Casillas.

Madrid could only create half decent openings on the counter and Getafe’s persistent and fighting spirit was rewarded with a second goal ten minutes from time. Celestini’s initial shot from outside the box took a wicked deflection off a crowd of defenders and the ball fell kindly for Pedro Leon, who slotted past an on-rushing Casillas.

The home support lifted after the goal, as did Madrid, and Ronaldo went searching for his hat-trick. The Portuguese ran on to a piercing through pass from Guti but his left foot drive was parried away by Ustari. Straight to the other end, a free kick from Pedro Leon was palmed over by Casillas, before Guti launched a counter-attack for Ronaldo, whose final shot just flashed wide.

The second half never did live up to the excitement of the first after the flurry of goals as Madrid held on comfortably for a 4-2 victory to leapfrog Barcelona back to the top of La Liga before welcoming Atletico Madrid to the Santiago Bernabeu this Sunday.



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