Soccer

Barcelona stumble again as lowly Getafe grab point

The draw hit Barcelona’s faltering title hopes after leaders Atletico Madrid were surprisingly beaten at Leganes.

Barcelona were held by Getafe (Manu Fernandez/AP)
Barcelona were held by Getafe (Manu Fernandez/AP) (Manu Fernandez/AP)
By PA Sport Staff

Barcelona’s faltering LaLiga title challenge suffered another setback after they surrendered a lead to draw 1-1 at relegation-threatened Getafe.

A surprise 1-0 loss for leaders Atletico Madrid at Leganes on Saturday afternoon presented Hansi Flick’s third-placed side with a chance to move within three points of top spot.

But, having won just one of their previous seven league fixtures, Barca dropped more points after Jules Kounde’s early opener was cancelled out before the break by a bundled finish from Mauro Arambarri.

Matija Nastasic scored Leganes’ goal as Atleti’s eight-match winning run in the league came to a surprising end.

Reigning champions Real Madrid, who sit four points ahead of Barcelona in second place, have the chance to return to the top of the table when they host Las Palmas on Sunday.

Kike Garcia scored a hat-trick as Alaves boosted their survival fight with a 3-1 win over 10-man Real Betis, while Sevilla beat Girona 2-1 thanks to a late goal from Dodi Lukebakio.

In Serie A, Napoli moved six points clear at the top with a 3-2 win over third-placed Atalanta.

La Dea led through Mateo Retegui’s 14th league goal of the season, but Matteo Politano and Scott McTominay turned the tables. Ademola Lookman equalised only for Romelu Lukaku’s 78th-minute strike to earn Napoli the points.

Second-placed Inter Milan have two games in hand on the leaders, the first against Empoli on Sunday.

Juventus beat AC Milan 2-0, with goals from Samuel Mbangula and Timothy Weah, while Bologna beat Monza 3-1.

There were wins for the Bundesliga’s leading pair as Bayern Munich beat Wolfsburg 3-2 and Bayer Leverkusen won 3-1 against Borussia Monchengladbach.

Leon Goretzka scored twice for Bayern to sandwich Michael Olise’s strike, with Mohamed Amoura’s brace in vain. Florian Wirtz’s double and a Patrik Schick strike were enough for Leverkusen.

St Pauli and Hoffenheim boosted their survival prospects with wins over relegation rivals Heidenheim and Holstein Kiel respectively.

Fourth-placed Stuttgart beat Freiburg 4-0 while Bochum came from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 with RB Leipzig thanks to Myron Boadu’s hat-trick.

Ligue 1 leaders Paris St Germain won 2-1 at Lens, Bradley Barcola with a late winner after Fabian Ruiz had cancelled out M’Bala Nzola’s opener.

Brest beat Rennes by the same score while Lyon and Toulouse drew 0-0.