Video - Highlights from Barcelona vs Getafe

Barcelona have beaten a tough Getafe side to consolidate their place at the top of the La Liga. The Catalan giants won 2-1 after goals from Alves and Bojan. Alves' goal was certainly the pick of the bunch. A 25 yard half volley found the net with style in the 17th minute.

Real Madrid also took all three points to keep up the pressure on Barcelona as the end of the season draws closer. Check out the highlights from Barcelona vs Getafe below.

Spanish Premiera Round 17 - Getafe vs Real Madrid - Review

Real Madrid took honours in the Madrid derby after narrowly defeating Getafe 3-2 to cut back the gap between themselves and La Liga leaders Barcelona to just 2 points. A brace from Cristiano Ronaldo and a classy Mesut Oezil finish sealed the victory, although a Dani Parejo wonder goal for Getafe before half time put the game in doubt for the away side. Kaka’s return to action following 6 months on the sidelines with a knee injury was a major boost for Los Blancos, although Karim Benzema’s dismal form and a late red card for Arbeloa meant the away team had to work hard for the three points.

Heading into the match, Mourinho made several changes to his squad’s defensive line-up, due to the suspensions of Carvalho and Pepe; Ramos was pushed into the centre with Raul Albiol. Los Blancos began the game with confidence, and a penalty claim, a long range free kick and an attempted bicycle kick all from Ronaldo within the first 10 minutes ensured that the away team asserted their dominance over the hosts. However, Mourinho’s men were soon awarded a penalty after Angel Di Maria was pulled down controversially by Mane while making a run into the penalty box. While the referee pointed to the spot immediately, the Getafe players were outraged; however this was to no avail as Ronaldo calmly beat Codina.

Los Blancos were soon leading 2-0 when Di Maria made another dazzling run before sliding the ball to Oezil who ran around the goalkeeper and slotted his team’s second goal of the night at the near post. The hosts then began to apply the pressure on Madrid, with Rios and Parejo having numerous chances to pull one back for their team. Their efforts were soon awarded when poor defence by Arbeloa and Diarra allowed Parejo to try a long range effort which sailed past Casillas in the 29th minute.

Early in the second half, Ronaldo seemed to have ensured a Madrid victory with a clinical finish following Benzema’s interception of a poor clearance from Codina. Los Blancos could have put the match out of reach for the hosts when Benzema had two exceptional chances; his first effort was collected by Codina after failing to shoot early enough, while his second opportunity was side-netted. Moruinho was visibly frustrated by his striker’s inability to score on these occasions, and rumours that the Frenchman is leaving Madrid during this January transfer window now seem highly likely, despite the news that Gonzalo Higuian will be out for the rest of the season.

Kaka made his long-awaited return from injury in the 75th minute at the expense of Benzema, although his comeback was low-key with only one clear goal-scoring opportunity.

The home side kept on pressuring the Madrid defense, and when Arbeloa was sent off for a second yellow card, the possibility of a Getafe fightback became possible. The Spanish defender was deemed by the referee to have touched the ball with his hands, and his side was reduced to 10 men for the remaing 10 minutes. The hosts were awarded for their continous pressure on Madrid when substitute Albin netted Getafe’s second of the night after the ball bounced off Marcelo and landed directly in front of the Uruguayan. However Los Blancos managed to hold onto a solid victory in this Madrid derby and closed the gap to Barcelona to just 2 points.

With the Janurary transfer window now open, Mourinho must ensure that his side maintains full concentration on the pitch and does not let any unnecessary points slip past them. New signings, particularly in their attacking line-up, seem necessary now that it has been confirmed Higuian will be sidelined for the remainder of the season. Players such as Adebayor have been linked to the club within recent days, although results on the pitch remain the clear focus for now as Mourinho aims to close the gap to Barcelona.

Man of the Match: Angel Di Maria

By Alexander "Real Madrid" Novo (Twitter and Facebook Follower)

Spanish La Liga, has it become too uncompetitive?

During the Christmas break we take time to evaluate how each of the several leagues across Europe and the world have faired both competitively and financially. The first league we take a look at is Spain's premier league the La Liga. The La Liga is rated by FIFA as the second most successful league in the world after the English Premier League. However, in recent times the league has come under much pressure to offer something new both in terms of marketing and football.

One of the biggest problems in the La Liga is that the league has seemingly divided itself - overtime - into four different tiers.

One tier is played between Barcelona and Real Madrid to win the title.

Just under them is the second tier which consists of Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Valencia and Villarreal, fighting for places in the champions league and the Europa league.

The third tier varies, but usually consists of teams like Atletico Bilbao, Espanyol, Getafe and Deportivo la Coruna, who are quite happy to stay out of trouble, but still play to achieve that elusive Europa League spot.

The fourth tier, of course is that between the teams trying to avoid relegation. Although the quality of the teams do not match those in the "first tier" the competition between these teams is quite exhilarating especially towards the end of the season.

These "tiers" or leagues are divided greatly by the level of football acustomed to each of the clubs. One big example of this was the recent match between Real Madrid and Levante - a team just sitting above relegation-  in the Spanish Cup , the 8-0 victory to Madrid including two hattricks to both Benzema and Ronaldo shows the difference in footballing ability between the two clubs. 

The fact that Madrid and Barcelona are always increasing the gap between all the tiers below them - mainly for money. Shows that the La Liga is bound to become more uncompetitive unless the influence of lesser known clubs becomes greater. Through both transfers and media publicity. Although everything is possible with newly promoted club Hercules putting up stiff challenges against Barcelona (1-0 Victory) and Real Madrid.



By Isidoro Munoz Mendoza our Spanish Correspondant
(Born in the Bernabeu) - Facebook follower