LA LIGA (SPAIN)
Real Madrid 1-0 Getafe: Asensio strike helps Los Blancos to LaLiga victory
Marco Asensio's 20-yard finish helped Real Madrid to a low-key 1-0 victory over relegation-threatened Getafe in LaLiga on Saturday.
The Spain international fired home a superb strike with 20 minutes to play at Santiago Bernabeu to keep Los Blancos in the mix for a top-two finish.
With Barcelona poised to claim the league crown imminently, Carlo Ancelotti's priorities have long since shifted to mounting a successful defence of their Champions League crown.
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But he will nevertheless be happy to ensure they maintain some unbeaten momentum after seeing off Jose Bordalas' struggling visitors.
With a much-rotated side fielded in deference to Wednesday's impending European crunch clash with Manchester City, Madrid shaded a lacklustre first half between the two.
Asensio missed an opportunity after tapping a soft finish straight to keeper David Soria off Aurelien Tchouameni's smart delivery, while Dani Ceballos was wildly off-target just beyond the half-hour mark.
3 - Real Madrid touched the ball just three times in Getafe's box in the first half, their lowest half-time tally in a @LaLigaEN home game since December 2012 (2 v Atlético de Madrid).Disconnection. pic.twitter.com/hKIXdAZcQt— OptaJose (@OptaJose) May 13, 2023
Getafe themselves struggled to press their hosts for an opener of their own, and were mostly limited to a flurry of half-chances for Juan Iglesias that were ably dealt with in the opening quarter-hour.
That overall lack of quality saw Ancelotti introduce a slew of first-team regulars after the break, with Vinicius Junior and Luka Modric both brought on.
But it was Asensio who finally won it after he struck from distance, with a handy deflection helping his effort squirm beneath Soria and in at the right post.
Vinicius saw a late breakaway chalked off for offside, yet Madrid were untroubled across the closing stages, securing three points with little fuss.
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