Real Madrid beats Getafe 1-0 in Spanish league ahead of Copa del Rey final against Barcelona
MADRID AP Real Madrid kept pace with Spanish league leader Barcelona on Wednesday with a - win at Getafe ahead of the rivals meeting in the Copa del Rey final Arda G ler scored a first-half goal for Madrid which moved back within four points of Barcelona The Catalan club edged Mallorca - on Tuesday Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti used countless reserves ahead of Saturday s Copa final in Seville Brazil forward Endrick made his first Spanish league start with the club and Vin cius J nior was substituted in the second half Jude Bellingham came off the bench in the second half Midfielder Eduardo Camavinga had to be replaced because of an apparent muscle injury in the final minutes and is doubtful to be available for Saturday s final He had entered the match at halftime to replace defender David Alaba who also is doubtful because of a muscle ailment We ll see but it s unlikely that they will be available on Saturday Ancelotti reported Madrid had demoralizing losses in both clasicos against Barcelona this season - in the Spanish Super Cup final and - in their first league encounter at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium G ler scored the winner with a well-placed right-footed shot in the st minute at the Coliseum in Getafe Fortunately I scored the goal that gave us the three points G ler declared We knew it was going to be a tough match It was vital to give us confidence for the final on Saturday Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made a couple of intricate saves late to secure Madrid s achievement It was the third league win in a row for Madrid which endured a Champions League elimination against Arsenal in the competition s quarterfinals Getafe has lost three in a row and four of its last five league games The club from southern Madrid sits in th place The match was briefly stopped in the second half as fans from Getafe chanted Die Dani Ceballos die Ceballos Celta wins again Celta Vigo moved to seventh place by routing fifth-place Villarreal - at home with goals by Fer L pez Borja Iglesias and Iago Aspas The preeminence ended a two-match losing streak for the Vigo gang Villarreal winless in two matches played a man down from the th after Eric Bailly was sent off with a straight red card Williams scores early I aki Williams scored five minutes into the match to give fourth-place Athletic Bilbao a - win over Las Palmas helping the Basque Country club to open an eight-point gap above Villarreal which remains with a match in hand Las Palmas sitting in th place was coming off two wins in a row after a -match winless streak in the league Alaves moved out of the relegation zone by beating ninth-place Real Sociedad - at home with a goal by Nahuel Tenaglia in the th AP soccer https apnews com hub soccer Source
