MADRID: Arda Guler’s cultured first-half strike earned Real Madrid a nervy 1-0 win at Getafe on Wednesday that kept their La Liga title hopes alive and left them four points behind leaders Barcelona with five matches remaining.

After Barca extended their lead with a 1-0 victory over Mallorca on Tuesday, Carlo Ancelotti’s men secured three precious points thanks to the Turkey midfielder’s fine 20th-minute effort from the edge of the box.

However, the win over Getafe may have come at a cost to Real with David Alaba and Eduardo Camavinga both forced off.

“We’ll see what they have tomorrow, but I think they’re both suffering from muscle soreness. It will certainly be difficult for them to be available on Saturday (to play Barcelona),” said Ancelotti.

Ancelotti decided to rest several key players ahead of Saturday’s Copa del Rey final against rivals Barca, but Real still dominated proceedings.

They failed to capitalise on numerous opportunities to extend their lead, however, which resulted in a tense finish to the encounter, with Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois producing two brilliant saves in added time to secure their win.

The victory moved them up to 72 points in second place, nine ahead of third-placed Atletico Madrid who have a game in hand and take on Rayo Vallecano.

With forward Kylian Mbappe out with an ankle injury he sustained in their Champions League quarter-final loss to Arsenal, Anc­e­lotti also opted to start with Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo, Luka Mod­ric, Antonio Ruediger and Edua­rdo Camavinga on the bench.

Despite the changes, Real put in a solid display, although they found it difficult to break down Getafe’s well-drilled, five-man defence after Guler’s opener.

Vinicius Jr, operating down the left flank, caused problems for Getafe’s defence and he was den­ied twice by goalkeeper David So­r­ia. He also set up Endrick in the 32nd minute, only for defender Djene to make a heroic clearance on the goal-line.

Real continued to control the game after the break, with Soria making impressive saves to deny a curling effort from Brahim Diaz and a potent strike from Vinicius.

As Real started to tire, Getafe began to pose a threat on the counter and Mauro Arambarri squandered a golden opportunity in the 72nd minute, mishitting his shot from close range after being set up perfectly by Borja Mayoral.

As Real pressed for a second goal in the dying moments, they were vulnerable to counter-atta­cks and Courtois made two fantastic saves from Omar Alderete and Juanmi to preserve Real’s lead.

Earlier on Wednesday, Inaki Williams fired Athletic Bilbao to a 1-0 home win over Las Palmas to strengthen their chances of direct qualification for next season’s Champions League.

The Basque side sit fourth with five games to go, eight points clear of fifth-placed Villarreal who suffered a 3-0 defeat at Celta Vigo.

Bilbao also have a Europa League semi-final against Manch­ester United to come, and should they win that they will play the final in their home stadium.

Sixth-placed Betis are a point behind Villarreal ahead of their encounter with rock-bottom Valla­dolid.Elsewhere, Deportivo Ala­v­es climbed out of the bottom three at the expense of Las Palmas with a 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2025