Denis Suarez had earlier equalized for Ernesto Valverde's men who fell behind to Gaku Shibasaki’s wonder goal. Substitutes Denis Suarez and Paulinho struck for Barcelona as they recovered from Gaku Shibasaki’s wondergoal to beat Getafe and move seven points clear of Real Madrid.
Jorge Molina missed a great chance early on as he prodded into the side netting from close range after Gerard Pique deflected an effort to him at the back post. Ousmane Dembele went off injured as Barcelona struggled to force their way into the game.
However five minutes before the interval, Getafe broke the deadlock with a sensational volley from Shibasaki, belted into the top corner from outside the area.
Barcelona equalised through half-time substitute Denis Suarez, who finished well after being teed up by Sergi Roberto.
Then another substitute Paulinho barged his way through and rammed home to snatch Barcelona the win.
Here are the five major talking points from the game…
1. Will the real Suarez please stand up?
Suarez saving Barcelona is nothing new, but it’s usually Luis, not Denis.
Substitute Denis Suarez netted a fine equaliser for Barcelona, showing coolness of mind and a lethal finish to curl home from inside the area in the second half, as the Catalans struggled.
However the other Suarez, the rather more famous Suarez, struggled to make an accurate pass, much less the difference.
The Uruguayan hitman put in an extremely poor performance which will worry Barcelona fans and coach Valverde.
One late break was totally ruined by his inability to control the ball correctly, and then when he did manage to, his pass was straight to a Getafe defender.
It’s lucky Denis helped bail him out.
2. Paulinho silences critics
One of the most mocked moves of the transfer window was Barcelona splashing 40 million euros on Paulinho.
The Brazilian midfielder came from Guangzhou Evergrande with a hefty price tags and millions of mouths to shut, which he started here.
Brought on in the 77th minute, Paulinho took just seven minutes to charge into the area and rifle home to put Barcelona ahead in a game where they struggled.
“Paulinho, Paulinho,” sung the visiting fans, but how many of them would have criticised his signing?
Often it’s best to wait and see how things go before passing judgement.
3. Dembele debate
Barcelona have lost their Neymar replacement already. Ousmane Dembele was taken off after 25 minutes with what looked like a hamstring injury.
Before he was removed the Frenchman was having a stinker, losing the ball on almost every occasion he picked it up—though of course it’s foolish to read too much into that, considering the bobbly, unkempt Getafe pitch, which even Lionel Messi had trouble with.
However the question has to be asked: If Dembele didn’t miss a crucial week of pre-season training with Borussia Dortmund, when he was on strike to force his move through to Barcelona, would this have happened?
It’s impossible to say for sure, but a lot of muscle injuries are down to poor preparation and a stressful week without proper training can’t have done Dembele much good.
4. Valverde takes different road to Lucho
One of the main tenets of Luis Enrique’s reign at Barcelona was his constant rotation. The coach often found himself criticised for his incessant tinkering, with the Asturian changing various players on a game to game basis.
By contrast, Ernesto Valverde so far looks to have eschewed that strategy and seems to have found his favoured starting XI.
He made just one change from the team that beat Juventus 3-0 on Tuesday, bringing Sergi Roberto in for Nelson Semedo at right-back.
That meant Andres Iniesta played his third game in little over a week and it was no surprise to see him brought off at half-time.
The veteran midfielder showed against the Old Lady that he still has supreme quality—but this display indicates that his time needs to be managed well to keep him fresh.
5. Barcelona pile pressure on Real Madrid
This early into the season it’s unusual to be talking about anybody’s title hopes being dented, because there is a long way to go.
However in La Liga, where the margin between Barcelona and Real Madrid is usually so thin, for the Catalans to be seven points up on their rivals after four games would be huge.
Madrid face Real Sociedad on Sunday night at Anoeta, which is a tricky place to play at the best of times—and Eusebio Sacristan’s men are in fine fettle, with a 100 per cent record thus far.
If Zinedine Zidane’s men cannot improve on their recent league displays which saw Madrid drop points against Valencia and Levante, Los Blancos will be in for a very uncomfortable Sunday night, with much more at stake than it might seem.
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