REAL MADRID FELL to a damaging 1-0 defeat by Getafe at home in La Liga, leaving them four points behind leaders Barcelona.
Alvaro Arbeloa’s side, beaten by a superb volley from Martin Satriano, suffered a second consecutive loss in the Spanish top flight.
Madrid forward Franco Mastantuono was sent off in stoppage time for apparent dissent to make a bad night worse for Los Blancos.
With French superstar Kylian Mbappe in France to treat a knee sprain, Madrid lined up with Gonzalo Garcia in attack alongside Brazil star Vinicius Junior at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Real Madrid were beaten at Osasuna last weekend, allowing rivals Barca to overtake them in the title race, and Hansi Flick’s side stretched their lead by thrashing Villarreal on Saturday.
Vinicius, in excellent form in 2026 after an inconsistent start to the season, spurned a fine early chance.
The winger burst through on goal but David Soria saved well with his leg.
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A brilliant roulette from Arda Guler nearly earned Madrid the breakthrough but Soria tipped over the Turkish forward’s strike.
Getafe were upset by a painful collision between Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger and Diego Rico, in which the German’s knee knocked the Spaniard’s head.
Uruguayan forward Satriano broke the deadlock with a delicious strike from the edge of the box after compatriot Mauro Arambarri nodded the ball into his path.
Soria, who had a fine game, saved from Vinicius in the second half and the Brazilian called for more support from Madrid’s fans.
However the team were not giving them much to get excited about, although Rudiger came close to levelling with a header.
In stoppage time Mastantuono was dismissed, seemingly for something he said to the referee, before Getafe were also reduced to 10 men when Adrian Liso kicked the ball away and was shown a second yellow card.
Championship: Birmingham 1-3 Middlesbrough
Defender Matt Targett scored twice as Middlesbrough won 3-1 at Birmingham in the Championship to strengthen their grip on the second automatic promotion spot.
Boro’s place in the top two had come under threat after three games without a win, but Targett emerged as the unlikely hero to put Kim Hellberg’s side back on track as they seek a return to the Premier League for the first time since 2017.
Former Aston Villa left-back Targett ran onto a long ball forward from Aidan Morris and steered past Birmingham goalkeeper James Beadle to give Boro the lead on 13 minutes at St Andrew’s.
Targett struck again in the first half after a mistake by Birmingham centre-back Christoph Klarer, but Birmingham got back into the game when twice-capped Germany international Marvin Ducksch finished off a clever team move just after the break.
David Strelec headed in to restore Boro’s two-goal lead as the visitors climbed to within five points of league leaders Coventry, while also putting some distance between themselves and third-placed Millwall.
Millwall are four points behind Boro, with Ipswich and Hull another two points adrift. Wrexham occupy the final play-off place as the Hollywood-backed Welsh side chase a fourth consecutive promotion.
It was only Birmingham’s second home defeat in their past 42 league games, coming off the back off a 3-0 loss at Millwall last week that snapped an eight-match unbeaten run.
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Real Madrid suffer blow in La Liga title race after second consecutive defeat
La Liga: Real Madrid 0-1 Getafe
REAL MADRID FELL to a damaging 1-0 defeat by Getafe at home in La Liga, leaving them four points behind leaders Barcelona.
Alvaro Arbeloa’s side, beaten by a superb volley from Martin Satriano, suffered a second consecutive loss in the Spanish top flight.
Madrid forward Franco Mastantuono was sent off in stoppage time for apparent dissent to make a bad night worse for Los Blancos.
With French superstar Kylian Mbappe in France to treat a knee sprain, Madrid lined up with Gonzalo Garcia in attack alongside Brazil star Vinicius Junior at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Real Madrid were beaten at Osasuna last weekend, allowing rivals Barca to overtake them in the title race, and Hansi Flick’s side stretched their lead by thrashing Villarreal on Saturday.
Vinicius, in excellent form in 2026 after an inconsistent start to the season, spurned a fine early chance.
The winger burst through on goal but David Soria saved well with his leg.
A brilliant roulette from Arda Guler nearly earned Madrid the breakthrough but Soria tipped over the Turkish forward’s strike.
Getafe were upset by a painful collision between Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger and Diego Rico, in which the German’s knee knocked the Spaniard’s head.
Uruguayan forward Satriano broke the deadlock with a delicious strike from the edge of the box after compatriot Mauro Arambarri nodded the ball into his path.
Soria, who had a fine game, saved from Vinicius in the second half and the Brazilian called for more support from Madrid’s fans.
However the team were not giving them much to get excited about, although Rudiger came close to levelling with a header.
In stoppage time Mastantuono was dismissed, seemingly for something he said to the referee, before Getafe were also reduced to 10 men when Adrian Liso kicked the ball away and was shown a second yellow card.
Championship: Birmingham 1-3 Middlesbrough
Defender Matt Targett scored twice as Middlesbrough won 3-1 at Birmingham in the Championship to strengthen their grip on the second automatic promotion spot.
Boro’s place in the top two had come under threat after three games without a win, but Targett emerged as the unlikely hero to put Kim Hellberg’s side back on track as they seek a return to the Premier League for the first time since 2017.
Former Aston Villa left-back Targett ran onto a long ball forward from Aidan Morris and steered past Birmingham goalkeeper James Beadle to give Boro the lead on 13 minutes at St Andrew’s.
Targett struck again in the first half after a mistake by Birmingham centre-back Christoph Klarer, but Birmingham got back into the game when twice-capped Germany international Marvin Ducksch finished off a clever team move just after the break.
David Strelec headed in to restore Boro’s two-goal lead as the visitors climbed to within five points of league leaders Coventry, while also putting some distance between themselves and third-placed Millwall.
Millwall are four points behind Boro, with Ipswich and Hull another two points adrift. Wrexham occupy the final play-off place as the Hollywood-backed Welsh side chase a fourth consecutive promotion.
It was only Birmingham’s second home defeat in their past 42 league games, coming off the back off a 3-0 loss at Millwall last week that snapped an eight-match unbeaten run.
– © AFP 2026
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