Spanish champs Real Madrid crash to Getafe

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Published on Monday, 27 August 2012 10:15

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Madrid, Spain (AFP): La Liga champions Real Madrid crashed to a shock 2-1 defeat at derby rivals Getafe yesterday to leave them five points behind fierce rivals Barcelona after only two games of the new season. Madrid's sluggish start has seen them held 1-1 at home to Valencia in the league followed by a 3-2 defeat by Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup first leg, before this latest slip-up.

Gonzalo Higuain put Madrid ahead after 26 minutes but their weakness in the air returned to haunt them as Juan Valera headed Getafe level after 52 minutes. Madrid pressed forward looking for the winner but instead they were caught out at the back, with Abdelaziz Barrada scoring a 74th-minute winner. Jose Mourinho's side will now look to get their season back on track in the second leg of the Super Cup on Thursday against Barca, who beat Real Sociedad 2-1 earlier on Sunday.

After a scrappy opening at Getafe, Madrid began to assert themselves and Mesut Ozil was guilty of a glaring miss in the 15th minute when he hit the bar after a neat combination with Cristiano Ronaldo left the goal unguarded. Higuain had been picked ahead of Karim Benzema and he gave the visitors the lead from Angel di Maria's pass, using his strength to round the goalkeeper and slot the ball home. After the break, Getafe came out looking to attack and got their reward thanks to poor marking from Madrid, with the unmarked Valera heading in from a free-kick.

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