At halftime, Barça were the better team and looked closer to a winner than Getafe however the entire second half led us and the video game was quite still up for grabs.
Barcelonas unbeaten streak under Ronald Koeman stops at three as the Blaugrana lost their first video game of the season away to Getafe thanks to a goal from Jaime Mata. Barça played well and missed out on a couple of truly great chances in the first half, but could not keep the intensity in the second and saw a gritty Getafe group grind their way to a substantial victory in your home.
Although the game was choppy and with lots of blockages, Barça managed to create a couple of good opportunities. Early on it was Lionel Messi who hit the post after a good pass from Sergiño Dest, then Antoine Griezmann found himself all alone in front of David Soria but sent his shot over the bar; finally Clément Lenglet could not get contact on a perfect cross from Messi and missed out on another great chance.
The questionable moment came on a clear elbow from Allan Nyom to Messis jaw that should have a minimum of a review from VAR to see if it might be a red card, however the referee chose that Nyom could stroll away without a booking. Barça had an excellent case for a dispatching, but their protests were disregarded.
As we got in the last 10 minutes Barça were desperate and couldnt reveal any creativity in the attack, and started to give Getafe a lot of space to counter. Koeman made one last roll of the dice with Francisco Trincão, Martin Braithwate, Riqui Puig and an ultra-attacking lineup, and there were a couple of huge minutes, consisting of a near amazing own goal by Cabaco, but the final whistle came to provide Barça their very first loss of the season.
SECOND HALF
The first half was as extreme as anticipated, with Getafe pressuring the man with the ball and not shy about fouling if required. Barça tried to keep belongings and develop great offense however kept losing the ball in the final third, though the Blaugrana did do a good job of pushing without the ball to get it back and never ever suffered defensively.
Goals: None.
Barcelona: Neto; Roberto (Puig 87), Piqué, Lenglet, Dest; Busquets, De Jong (Braithwaite 80); Messi, Pedri (Coutinho 61), Dembélé (Ansu Fati 61); Griezmann (Trincão 80).
The video game stayed physical to start the 2nd half, and Getafe attempted to have more of the ball to produce some issues, and they were given a big present when Frenkie De Jong brought Djené down inside the box to offer the home team a charge, which Jaime Mata scored with ease.
Ronald Koeman phoned Ansu Fati and Philippe Coutinho from the bench with 30 minutes to go to change the game and try, and Fati was very active and direct attempting to include some stimulate however could not create any magic in his very first minutes on the pitch.
HALF
This is an aggravating loss since of the missed out on chances and a bad second half, but there are still positives to take. Barça played difficult and didnt fold as they typically do on the road, and Pedri and Dembélé did as well as they might as beginners. Losing is never enjoyable, but there are different type of losing and this is the encouraging kind.
Goal: Mata (55 pen.).
Getafe: Soria; Damián, Djené, Cabaco, Olivera; Nyom, Maksimovic (Mollejo 90 +5), Arambarri, Cucurella; Cucho (Copovi 90), Mata (Ünal 71).
