In a battle for the top half, Alaves hit their stride in the opening stages and were good value to take an early lead.
Against one of their rivals in search of a top-10 finish, some quick thinking from Ruben Duarte, whose raking five–yard ball fed Carlos Vicente, unlocked the Getafe defence and Vicente’s effort squirmed in at the near post. The linesman’s flag initially cut short his celebrations, but a quick VAR check confirmed he was onside.
The linesman did get an offside call right just moments later though, again raising his flag to deny Giuliano Simeone heading home a swift second.
Getafe were really struggling to pin down Simeone, and he was instrumental in working a key opening for Kike Garcia to double Alaves’ advantage. But as his square ball found the unmarked Kike, the veteran forward watched on with anguish as his effort cannoned back off the crossbar.
Getafe’s attacking offerings were relatively muted in the first half, but they seemed to come out after the break with a renewed sense of optimism that they could find a leveller, but as Mason Greenwood found out when his drive was easily gathered by Jesus Owono, breaking Alavés’ resistance was proving problematic.
The second half was a rather subdued affair on the whole, with an overhit Vicente corner which almost caught David Soria out about as close as either side came to breaking the post-45 minute deadlock.
At times, this game almost had the feel of a typical end of season clash, where both sets of players were already dreaming of their summer breaks. And that was perhaps best symbolised by Getafe’s evident lack of intent to find a leveller, with this, a fourth successive defeat ‘to nil’, perhaps the byproduct of an impressive run prior.
It’s not all doom and gloom for Getafe, who could still finish in the top-half, but they’ll have to leapfrog Alaves to do so. Not since 2016/17 have the hosts finished in the top-10 in LaLiga, but given they’re still under pressure from those behind them, they’ll likely need a result on the final day away to Las Palmas to ensure nothing is left to chance.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Carlos Vicente (Alaves)
