Barcelona were held to a second successive 0-0 draw in La Liga for the first time since 2005 after being frustrated by Getafe on Sunday.
A first title since 2019 is still firmly in La Blaugrana’s sights as they sit 11 points clear of Real Madrid with nine games left to play, but Xavi will have been left frustrated by a Getafe side who sought to disrupt them from the off, growing the grass on the pitch at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez to the maximum length allowed and making their intentions known from the off.
The first major chance of the game went the hosts’ way after five minutes, with Borja Mayoral digging out a cross from the byline for La Masia graduate Munir, whose header bounced narrowly wide of the post.
Barcelona’s first opportunity saw Alejandro Balde’s cross take a deflection off of Jordi Alba into the path of Robert Lewandowski, who was unable to sort his feet out from six yards out and Getafe managed to clear.
Former Manchester City striker Enes Unal managed to wrestle himself free from Jules Kounde on a corner but was unable to keep his free header down as Barça were let off the hook.
Within the next 20 seconds, Barcelona should have taken the lead. Raphinha managed to race clear of the Getafe backline from a long goal kick by Marc-Andre ter Stegen, seeing his effort cannon back off the post. Balde came crashing in to meet the rebound, but his shot struck the very same point of the woodwork.
In first-half stoppage time, Lewandowski rose highest to meet a deep cross from Sergio Busquets, but David Soria was able to scamper across his line and hold his header.
After the break, Lewandowski got his head on another ball into the box, this time heading wide from Alba’s delivery from midway inside the Getafe half.
The hosts were managing to keep Barça restricted to half-chances, with Raphinha’s 25-yard strike case-in-point, with the Brazilian denied by a stretching Soria save.
With time running out, Getafe looked to hit Barcelona on the break. Ronald Araujo failed to deal with a low cross, in part due to the lengthy grass, and Mayoral lashed a shot towards goal, only to see his fierce strike sail just past the post.
Barça are without a win in their last three games, and their next match sees them take on Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou next Sunday.
GK: David Soria (8); RB: Damian Suarez (7), CB: Djene (6), CB: Domingos Duarte (7), CB: Omar Alderete (7), LB: Juan Iglesias (7); RM: Borja Bayoral (6), CM: Luis Milla (8), CM: Nemanja Maksimovic (7), LM: Munir…
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