LA LIGA CHAMPIONS Real Madrid crashed to a shock 2-1 defeat at derby rivals Getafe on Sunday to leave them five points behind fierce rivals Barcelona after only two games of the new season.
Madrid’s sluggish start has seen them held 1-1 at home to Valencia in the league followed by a 3-2 defeat by Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup first leg, before this latest slip-up.
Gonzalo Higuain put Madrid ahead after 26 minutes but their weakness in the air returned to haunt them as Juan Valera headed Getafe level after 52 minutes.
Madrid pressed forward looking for the winner but instead they were caught out at the back, with Abdelaziz Barrada scoring a 74th-minute winner.
Jose Mourinho’s side will now look to get their season back on track in the second leg of the Super Cup on Thursday against Barca, who beat Real Sociedad 2-1 earlier on Sunday.
After a scrappy opening at Getafe, Madrid began to assert themselves and Mesut Ozil was guilty of a glaring miss in the 15th minute when he hit the bar after a neat combination with Cristiano Ronaldo left the goal unguarded.
Higuain had been picked ahead of Karim Benzema and he gave the visitors the lead from Angel di Maria’s pass, using his strength to round the goalkeeper and slot the ball home.
After the break, Getafe came out looking to attack and got their reward thanks to poor marking from Madrid, with the unmarked Valera heading in from a free-kick.
The visitors pushed forward looking to regain the lead but instead Getafe struck again, with Adrian Colunga going past Raul Albiol and setting up Barrada to score.
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Earlier, Lionel Messi struck a late brace to give Barcelona victory over 10-man Osasuna that took them to the top of the table on goal difference over Rayo Vallecano.
Barca appeared set for their first defeat under coach Tito Vilanova, who was sent from the dug-out for complaining to the referee midway through the second half, before Messi came to the rescue.
Osasuna was the scene of a Barca defeat last season that helped to turn the title race against them and they went behind this time after a 17th-minute goal from Joseba Llorente.
After the visitors missed a hatful of opportunities, the game appeared to be going against them, until Messi rose to the occasion with strikes after 75 and 80 minutes.
Osasuna’s Francisco Punal was red-carded by the referee for protesting about the Argentine’s first strike, as he felt he was offside.
“This is a difficult stadium to come to and Osasuna were on top form but we still had good chances,” said Vilanova.On his red card, the Barca coach said: “I told the linesman that there was a free-kick and I was told not to complain. Now we know what to expect from this referee.”
Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes prevented Osasuna from taking the lead inside the first minute as he palmed away a close-range effort from Alvaro Cejudo, who had easily skipped past Gerard Pique.
The Catalans began to find openings, with Andres Iniesta firing over and Cristian Tello hitting the post from 25 yards, but it was Osasuna who snatched the lead on the break.
Roland Lamah sent a deep cross from the left wing that found Llorente — on loan from Real Sociedad — and he squeezed the ball in at the far post.
The game appeared to be going away from Barcelona but Messi popped up with two goals in the last 15 minutes to rescue them, first touching in a Sanchez cross and then finishing clinically with his left foot to condemn Osasuna.
Elsewhere, a 44th-minute equaliser from Spain international Alvaro Negredo earned Sevilla a 1-1 draw at Granada, while Valencia were set to host Deportivo La Coruna in Sunday’s late match.
Spanish Liga results on Sunday:Osasuna 1 (Llorente 17) Barcelona 2 (Messi 76, 80)
Getafe 2 (Valera 53, Barrada 75) Real Madrid 1 (Higuain 27)
Grenade 1 (Mikel Rico 36) Sevilla 1 (Negredo 44)
Playing later:
Valencia v Deportivo La Coruna
Playing Monday:
Valladolid v Levante
Atletico Madrid v Athletic Bilbao
Played Saturday:
Real Sociedad 2 (Agirretxe 54, 61) Celta Vigo 1 (De Lucas 49)
Espanyol 1 (Vazquez 43) Real Zaragoza 2 (Apono 51-pen, Postiga 89)
Real Betis 1 (Molina 4) Rayo Vallecano 2 (Piti 2, Carrilho Baptistao 62)
Malaga 1 (Juanmi 77) Real Mallorca 1 (Hemed 67)
