Barcelona got the best of Getafe in their 1-0 victory this afternoon in the low scoring fixture behind Polish star Robert Lewandowski’s early goal. Getafe came out of the gates with some early opportunities, forcing goalkeeper Inaki Pena to make a difficult save during his first start in net.
Pena is stepping in for longtime Barcelona keeper Marc-Andre Ter Stergen, who exited last Sunday’s 5-1 victory over Villarael just before halftime. Further tests have shown Ter Stergen will miss the remainder of the season with a complete rupture in his patella tendon.
Pena will attempt to fill the boots of one of the worlds best keepers for the time being, while Barcelona search for a more viable replacement. Veteran free agent and former Real Madrid, PSG keeper Keylor Navas is rumored to join the club, as well as the currently retired Wojciech Szczęsny who has most recently played for Juventus last season.
Pena survived the early pressure this afternoon, allowing Barcelona’s red hot attacking front to get into motion. Lamine Yamal delivered a ball through to Jules Kounde who then delivered a cross into a dangerous area. The Getafe keeper was unable to possess the cross, doing so batted the ball right to the foot of Lewandowski, who would go on to score the only goal of the match.
The threat of attack and back line defense was pristine once again for Barcelona who have now secured all 21 out of 21 possible points to remain perfect in LaLiga play. Man of the match was earned by none other than Lamine Yamal, despite not contributing to a goal directly, he was constantly a threat with his world class passing abilities.
The 17 year old reigning La Liga Young Player of the Year, Lamine Yamal has picked up right where he left off after his impressive rookie campaign. Yamal has contributed 4 goals and 5 assists through eight matches for Barcelona.
After a record breaking summer in Germany at the 2024 European Championship, the Spanish international brought home the European Championship Young Player of the Tournament, and European Championship Goal of the Tournament awards.
Yamal’s contributions, including the perfectly delivered assist to Nico Williams’ who scored the go ahead goal in the final, were a major factor in why Spain were crowned champions of Europe once again.
The rest of Barcelona’s main attack consists of Brazilian left winger Raphinia, with Robert Lewandowski as the lone striker. Lewandowski notched his 7th goal in his 7th match today, his best start to a season since his move to Barcelona from Bayern Munich. He’s also notched 2 assists to go along with his impactful goal scoring.
On the opposite wing from Yamal, Raphinia has also been stellar, with his 5 goal and 3 assist season going. This lethal front three has been nothing short of spectacular to start the season. The flooding of goals by this attack has led to a league best 18 goal differential, and helped Barcelona hold a 4 point lead over rival Real Madrid.
Outside of the significant loss of Ter Stergen to season long injury, this start for first year Barcelona manager Hansi Flick could not be better. With the addition of Kylian Mbappe for Real Madrid, and the impressive tactics and results for Barcelona thus far, the race for the LaLiga title is on its way to be a thriller.