Barcelona were held to a goalless draw at Getafe on Sunday as their winless run in all competitions stretched to three games.
Xavi Hernandez’s side remain 11 points clear of Real Madrid at the top of LaLiga, but their race to a first league title since 2019 has been slowed down by back-to-back stalemates in the league.
Getafe, who came close to winning the game late on through Borja Mayoral, edge four points clear of the relegation zone after holding the leaders at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez.
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Rapid reaction
1. Drab Barca lacking creativity
Barca never looked like breaking down a resilient Getafe side as their scoreless streak reached 290 minutes in all competitions. They have not found the back of the net since the 70th minute of their 4-0 win over Elche on April 1. Since then, they have lost 4-0 to Madrid in the Copa del Rey and been held to goalless draws by first Girona and now Getafe.
Sunday’s game once again highlighted the importance of the Barca players who are currently missing. Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha led the attack — both forced saves from David Soria and the Brazilian hit the post — but neither have quite been up to the grade in recent weeks. The absence of Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, Ousmane Dembele and Andreas Christensen has been telling.
The loss of Pedri has been especially significant for Barca. Lewandowski is certainly missing the midfielder’s creativity. With Pedri in the team, the Polish striker averages 0.6 goals per 90 minutes and 2.7 shots. Without him, those numbers drop to 0.2 and 1.5 respectively. Pedri could return next week, when Barca host Atletico Madrid at Spotify Camp Nou. Despite their lead over Madrid at the top, they could really do with a win to help them close in on the league title.
