Result: Getafe 0-0 Real Madrid
Date: 18 April 2021
Venue: Estadio Coliseum Alfonso Perez
An injury-hit Real Madrid side missed the chance to reduce the gap on LaLiga leaders Atletico Madrid after they were held to a goalless draw by Getafe on Sunday evening.
Los Blancos made six changes from the draw with Liverpool, with Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos only fit enough to start on the bench, as Marcelo, Victor Chust, Alvaro Odriozola, Isco, Rodrygo and Mariano all came in.
The visitors were at sixes and sevens in opening minutes but Mariano found the back of the net for Zinedine Zidane's charges in the eighth minute, but the goal was disallowed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for offside.
Jaime Mata came close to breaking the deadlock for the hosts in the 24th minute with a glancing header inside the box that beat goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois but came off the far post.
With the game being played at a lively pace, Vinicius Junior had a chance to break the deadlock for Los Blancos six minutes before the break with a free header inside the six-yard box that was smothered by Soria and the sides went to the break goalless.
The game was open in the early stages of the second stanza and Enes Unal came very close to snatching the lead for Getafe on the hour-mark with a cracking strike that was destined for the top corner but Courtois pulled off a stunning save to keep Madrid in the game.
Zidane made a double change in the 65th minute, as he finally brought on Benzema in place of Mariano and Antonio Blanco in place of Rodrygo as they went in search of an opening goa.
Angel almost broke the deadlock for the hosts 20 minutes before time with a first-time strike on the edge of the box that missed the bottom corner slightly wide, just after coming on for Mata.
Madrid were under a lot of pressure, as Nemanja Maksimovic came close to finally giving Getafe the lead 11 minutes before time with a strike inside the box that took a nasty deflection but Courtois acrobatically tipped his effort over the bar.
Getafe had the momentum in the closing minutes, with Los Blancos looking for chances on counter-attacks but neither side could find the winner and the sides settled for a point apiece, leaving Zidane's men three points behind Atletico in second place.
