Real Madrid 1-0 Getafe – Marco Asensio strikes late as patient Real Madrid overcome Getafe in La Liga

Real Madrid finally wore down a belligerent Getafe side, as they stumbled to a 1-0 win in their La Liga clash at the Bernabeu.

Marco Asensio’s deflected strike was enough to settle the tie, although the Deep Blue Ones could count themselves unlucky after a resilient defensive display that looked set to earn them a point.

Neither side created too many chances in the first half, with the hosts having the bulk of the possession but struggling to break down a stubborn back five.

Indeed, the best opportunities surprisingly fell to Getafe, who saw Nemanja Maksimovic fire just wide within two minutes, while Carles Alena missed the target from Portu’s knock-down.

The lack of intensity continued after the break, although Borja Mayoral missed a glorious free-header, while Thibaut Courtois made a splendid save from Juan Iglesias’ long-range effort.

The deadlock was finally broken on 70-minutes though, when Asensio’s deflected strike beat David Soria, while the goalkeeper denied the forward a second shortly afterwards with a top-drawer save from a diving header.

The goal had knocked the stuffing out of Getafe though, and they ultimately had no response as they slumped to another away defeat and remain inside the relegation zone.

TALKING POINT – Real’s attentions lie elsewhere

If it was not already clear, Carlo Ancelotti set his stall out for where his priorities lie for the remainder of the campaign by making eight changes to his starting line-up.

Real Madrid can still finish second in La Liga, but with their Champions League semi-final tie against Manchester City finely poised at 1-1, and the second leg coming up next week, the manager opted to rest the bulk of his senior players.

That meant Luka Modric and Vinicius Junior were only used from the bench, while Karim Benzema was absent altogether, and they will be well rested for the trip to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, a luxury that won’t be afforded to Pep Guardiola as his side travel to Everton in the Premier League tomorrow.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH

Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid). Not many players stood out for either side, but there’s no doubt that when Vinicius Junior eventually came off the bench, he made a real difference.

The Brazilian immediately upped the tempo, running at the Getafe defence with the kind of menace and intent that had been severely lacking.

He created a handful of chances down the left flank, and also had a goal disallowed for offside in an impressive 30-minute cameo.

PLAYER RATINGS

REAL MADRID: Courtois 6; Vazquez 6, Militao 6, Nacho 6, Mendy 6, Ceballos 6, Tchouameni 7, Camavinga 6, Valverde 6, Asensio 7, Hazard 5. Subs: Kroos 6, Vinicius Junior 7, Modric 6, Diaz 7, Odriozola n/a

GETAFE: Soria 7; Iglesias 7, Djene 7, Mitrovic 6, Alderete 6, Alvarez 7; Portu 6, Maksimovic 7, Alena 6, Mata 5; Mayoral 5. Subs: Algobia 6, El Haddadi 6, Anglieri 6, Seoane n/a, Amavi n/a

KEY MOMENTS

67’ TERRIFIC COURTOIS SAVE. That’s a superb strike from distance from Iglesias, sending a rocket towards the top corner, only for Courtois to dive high to his left and tip around the post

70’ GOAL! REAL MADRID 1-0 GETAFE (Marco Asensio). Deadlock broken at last! Asensio lets rip from 25-yards and fizzes a low shot into the bottom corner. It looks like it takes a deflection, which takes the ball out of Soria’s reach. 1-0.

77’ GOAL RULED OUT. A delightful and cool finish from Vinicius Junior, who runs through on goal and slots past Soria, but he was offside when the ball was passed to him by Mariano Diaz

79’ WHAT A SAVE! That’s superb from Soria, who somehow keeps out Asensio’s diving header at the back post

KEY STATS

• Real Madrid have now won 14 successive home games against Getafe
• Getafe extend their winless run on the road to 11 fixtures, losing eight times