Barça faces its first defeat of the season against a great defensive Getafe (1-0)

Barcelona (FCB).- A Valera goal from a second half corner proved enough to put an end to Barça's run of 27 games without defeat. With Getafe opting for an ultra defensive strategy, FC Barcelona never looked comfortable. Though they dominated throughout, they lacked punch up front until the final few minutes of the game when they laid siege to Moyà's goal. The Getafe keeper proved to be the home team's hero when he managed to knock away a last minute attempt after Messi had hit the post. This Saturday’s defeat in the Spanish League leaves Barça six points behind Real Madrid, which beat Atlético Madrid 4-1 earlier on the same evening.

Possession for Barça

Getafe's decision to sit back and wait for Barça gave Guardiola's team plenty of possession and with a 4-3-3 formation, which quickly switched to a 3-4-3 whenever Alves pushed forward down the wing, they were always going to pose a threat, but they didn't find it easy to make chances against the well disciplined home defence.  Alexis Sánchez saw an effort go just wide on 28 minutes and then on 36 drew a good stop from Moyà after a great team play.

Game narrowed down the middle

FC Barcelona were being drawn into attacking down the middle though, and Barça’s Manager, Pep Guardiola, was forced to switch his players around as he tried to get them to open up down the flanks. Getafe's only real occasion came on 41 minutes when Diego Castro found some space, but didn't have time to get a good shot off.

Shock strike from a corner

Luis García's team continued with their solid defensive display after the break, leaving Barça with little space to develop their trademark game, though Guardiola's men gradually began to create danger closer to Moya's goal. Then, on 67 minutes, Getafe won an isolated corner and Valera met it well to head low past Valdés for a goal very much against the flow of play. There were still 20 minutes left for FC Barcelona to turn it round and Guardiola brought on Pedro and Cuenca, whilst reverting to a fixed three man defence.

Unlucky

Barça now threw everything at the Getafe goal, with Piqué playing as a target man. Pedro made two dangerous moves in from the right, but it just wasn't Barça's night as first Keita was harshly adjudged off side to deny Messi the equaliser and then the Argentinean hit the post in injury time. In the end, all the hard work and effort was not, this time, rewarded with the points.