Barcelona’s winless streak extended after draw with Getafe
MADRID (AP) — Barcelona’s winless run continued with a 0-0 draw at Getafe in the Spanish league on Sunday, allowing second-place Real Madrid to cut its rival’s huge lead to 11 points with nine rounds remaining.
It was the third straight game without a victory for the Catalan club. Madrid, which is mostly focused on the Champions League and the Copa del Rey, won 2-0 at Cadiz on Saturday.
Seeking its first league title since 2019, Barcelona had also been held to a scoreless draw by Girona at home in the previous round. Before that, it endured a demoralizing 4-0 loss to Madrid at the Camp Nou in the Copa del Rey semifinals. Barcelona had won five in a row before the defeat against Madrid in the Copa.
Barcelona’s next match is at home against third-place Atletico Madrid, which later Sunday hosts relegation-threatened Almeria and is looking to win its sixth straight to get back within two points of Madrid.
The league is the only competition Barcelona can still win in the rest of the season. It won the Spanish Super Cup in a final against Madrid earlier this year, but was eliminated in both the Champions League and the Europa League.
Getafe, which hasn’t won in three consecutive league matches, stayed in 15th place, four points above the relegation zone.
Barcelona’s last league title came when Lionel Messi was still in the team. It had won eight league titles in 11 seasons before finishing second in 2020, third in 2021 and second again — without Messi — last season.
The Catalan club has been under scrutiny over its payments of several millions of dollars over several years to a company that belonged to the former vice president of the country’s refereeing committee. The club will have to defend itself in the courts after being formally accused by prosecutors with alleged corruption, fraudulent management and falsification of documentation. Club president Joan Laporta is expected to talk about the issue in a news conference on Monday.
ELCHE’S STRUGGLES
Girona added to Elche’s struggles with a 2-0 win at home with goals by Taty Castellanos and Oriol Romeu.
It was the fourth straight loss for last-place Elche, which has only one win in its last nine matches. It sits 17 points from safety with nine rounds to go.
Girona has won two of its last four matches, moving to ninth place.
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