Goals from Antoine Griezmann and Sergi Roberto saw Barcelona beat Getafe 2-1 at Camp Nou on Saturday to move provisionally level with Real Madrid on top of LaLiga, but the Catalans were made to work hard for their victory.
Getafe, in impressive form and in third place in the table, made life difficult for Quique Setien’s side as they pressed high in the opening minutes.
Jose Bordalas’ men thought they had taken the lead when Allan Nyom fired in a loose ball from a corner after Marc-Andre ter Stegen had saved a Jorge Molina header on 24 minutes, but the defender had fouled Samuel Umtiti in the build-up and the strike was ruled out by VAR.
Barca then took the lead 10 minutes later when Lionel Messi played a first-time pass into the area for Griezmann and the French forward dinked a fine finish over the onrushing David Soria.
Sergi Roberto then doubled Barca’s advantage after 39 minutes when he hit a low shot into the corner at the far post after a cross from Junior Firpo, who had replaced the injured Jordi Alba at left-back.
The Catalans looked comfortable for much of the second half, but substitute Angel Rodriguez - a transfer target for Barca as they look to bring in a player to replace long-term injury victim Ousmane Dembele - gave Getafe a lifeline after 66 minutes when he hit a brilliant volley into the corner from a Jaime Mata cross with Ter Stegen unable even to react.
Getafe then came close to a leveller following an almighty scramble on the Barca line, which saw Ter Stegen palm the ball away after Sergio Busquets had almost turned into his own net.
Griezmann twice missed chances to finish it off in the closing stages, blasting over from a central position when he should have scored and then sliding a low shot wide from the right.
But Barca saw out five minutes of added time to secure an important win which sees the Catalans move level at the top with Real Madrid, in action at home to struggling Celta Vigo on Sunday.
Relive all of the goals and action live...
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4 mins: Getafe snapping into tackles. Bordalas and Setien are old foes and have had a war of words after previous games. Two very different styles...
3 mins: Marc-Andre ter Stegen hurt his hand in the warm-up and had to leave the pitch, but the German has started and has already been involved with a couple of long passes as he tries to break the Getafe press...
2 mins: Effective from Jose Bordalas' side and Barca struggling to play the ball out from the back in these early stages...
1 min: Barcelona in possession early on, but Getafe pressing high up the pitch...
The match is under way at Camp Nou!
Pique back from a ban and injury, Umtiti overcomes a knock
Quique Setien looked like he would have a selection headache in defence for this match after Clement Lenglet was sent off at Real Betis last Sunday and earned a one-match ban.
Gerard Pique was suspended and also injured for the game in Seville, but returns today and Samuel Umtiti has overcome a knock to start against Getafe.
Photo: Getty Images
Albanian international Rey Manaj on the bench for Barca
Barcelona coach Quique Setien has included Albanian youngster Rey Manaj, who is 22 years old and plays for the club's youth team, on the bench for today's game.
Manaj joined Barca B from Albacete in January for around €2 million, but was not expected to feature in the first team. Now, with Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele out and no new striker yet, he has a chance.
Photo: Getty Images
Home happiness
Regardless of Barcelona's struggles off and on the pitch, it doesn't seem to have affected their form at Camp Nou.
Photo: Reuters
The Catalans have won 21 of their last 23 games at home, with only a goalless draw against Real Madrid and a 2-2 draw against Valencia stopping them from making it a 100 per cent record.
Their last defeat? A 4-3 thriller against Real Betis of course, back in November 2018. That just highlights the massive job Getafe have to complete an upset here today.
Barca-linked Angel on bench
Interestingly, Getafe striker Angel - who has been linked with a move to Barcelona this week - starts on the bench today.
Photo: AFP
The 32-year-old, who played down speculation over his future amid links with the Catalan giants, has scored nine goals this season from 20 appearances (six starts).
But it seems coach Jose Bordalas is keen to stick with his trusted partnership of Jorge Molina and Jaime Mata as the Champions League hopefuls make only one change from the win over Valencia, with Peter Etebo replacing Damian Suarez.
Ansu Fati starts as Setien shuffles backline
Quique Setien has fielded arguably his strongest Barcelona XI as the Catalans welcome Getafe to the Camp Nou.
Photo: AP
The Spanish coach has made four changes from the 3-2 win over Real Betis last time out, with three of those switches coming at the back.
Junior Firpo and Nelson Semedo drop to the bench, with Jordi Alba recalled and Sergi Roberto moving to right-back. Clement Lenglet is suspended after his red card, so Gerard Pique fills in at centre-back.
The only other change sees Ansu Fati come into the side for Arturo Vidal with the 17-year-old joining Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann in a three-man attack.