Barcelona cruise past Getafe, Real Madrid stutter to win over Villarreal

MADRID, Oct 10 : Barcelona extended their perfect LaLiga start with a comfortable 3-0 home win over Getafe on Saturday before Real Madrid overcame Villarreal 1-0 despite having Vinicius Jr sent off.

Barca's victory makes it eight wins for Hansi Flick's side and maintains their five-point lead at the top over Atletico Madrid, who won 2-1 at Alaves with a late Cristian Romero goal.

Real Madrid's narrow win keeps them in third place on 18 points, six points off the pace set by their arch-rivals, but Jose Mourinho is no closer to improving their performances.

The three-week international break did little to disrupt Barcelona’s rhythm and they went ahead after two minutes when Anthony Gordon cut inside and saw his shot deflect off Getafe midfielder Mario Martin and beyond goalkeeper David Soria.

The visitors struggled to escape their own half under sustained pressure and Gabriel Jesus punished a giveaway by Zaid Romero to score on the half-hour in his first start for Barca.

The hosts remained firmly in control after the break, with Getafe testing Joan Garcia only once on the keeper’s return from injury.

Jules Kounde, who missed a clear chance in the first half, completed the scoring for Barca in the 73rd minute with a simple finish from Lamine Yamal’s curling cross.

MBAPPE HITS THE POST

Real had the clearer first-half openings against Villarreal, with Kylian Mbappe's seventh-minute shot hitting the post.

They remained unconvincing on the ball, although neither side was able to direct proceedings. Villarreal were equally imprecise with their passes and chances were in short supply.

The tempo increased in the second half and Yan Diomande scored the winner when he beat the offside trap in the 63rd minute and found the bottom corner of the