José Bordalás answers Getafe call in La Liga’s greatest relegation dogfight

“I couldn’t sit at home with my arms crossed,” José Bordalás said, and so there he was standing in the pouring rain, soaked and angry again, glasses no good to him now. Sunday afternoon and the coach who took Getafe to primera in the first place had returned on a rescue mission to keep them there, swapping his sofa for the sideline. Where, officially just 27 hours into the job, he watched drenched as his team – well, it is now – lost 1-0 to Espanyol, their third consecutive defeat and a sixth game without winning dropping them deeper into the relegation zone. Which wasn’t the way he wanted it but was exactly why he was there, back for another battle.

And, boy, is it a battle: possibly the best La Liga has seen at the bottom, although that might not be the word they would use. It wasn’t supposed to be this way, at least not for Getafe. Survival last season, inspired by Crystal Palace, was a miracle considering how it started but was secured early, they strengthened in the summer and although they began badly, three home wins running across February and March – against Valencia, Girona and Sevilla – had lifted them five places and three points above relegation. The problem was that just two points from the next 15 followed and, while those were secured in Bilbao and against Barcelona, desperation and fear crept back in as they were pulled back into the Sarlaac pit.

When Getafe were beaten by 3-1 by Mallorca a week ago, coach Quique Sánchez Flores said his team had faced a choice between “good or shit … and we chose shit”. Three days later when they were beaten by Almería – Almería’s first away win all season – goalkeeper David Soria insisted that they lacked the “balls”, “blood” and “mentality” needed to fight against