Guler goal at Getafe keeps Real Madrid in La Liga title fight

MADRID — Arda Guler struck the only goal as Real Madrid won 1-0 at Getafe on Wednesday to claw itself back to within four points of La Liga leader Barcelona.

The young Turkish international fired in from outside the area midway through the first half, as Carlo Ancelotti's side stayed in title contention following Barcelona's win by the same scoreline at Mallorca on Tuesday.

Archrivals Madrid and Barcelona will meet in the Copa del Rey final in Seville on Saturday, with Kylian Mbappe poised to return from injury for the weekend "Clasico" — one of two remaining this season. The clubs are also due to meet in the league on May 11.

However, the win over Getafe may have come at a cost to Madrid with David Alaba and Eduardo Camavinga both forced off.

"We'll see what they have tomorrow, but I think they're both suffering from muscle soreness. It will certainly be difficult for them to be available on Saturday," said Ancelotti.

In Mbappe's absence, on the outskirts of Madrid, 18-year-old Brazilian striker Endrick made his first league start as England international Jude Bellingham dropped to the bench.

Left-back Fran Garcia twice went close for Madrid, his initial effort palmed away by David Soria, before he blasted the rebound high and wide.

It wasn't long before Guler broke the deadlock after Brahim Diaz looked to have wasted the chance.

Madrid worked the ball back out to Guler, whose powerful 20-yard drive flashed past Soria despite the Getafe goalkeeper getting a hand to it.

"Fortunately, I scored the goal that gave us the three points," Guler said. "We knew it was going to be a tough match. It was important to give us confidence for the final (on Saturday)."

Courtois saves the day

Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made a couple of difficult saves late on to secure Madrid's victory.

It was the third league win in a row for Madrid, which is attempting to bounce back from its disappointing Champions League quarterfinal elimination at the hands of Arsenal.

Endrick thought he had scored his second La Liga goal after being put through by Vinicius Jr, but Soria took the sting out of his shot, and defender Djene Dakonam cleared off the line.

Getafe created opportunities of its own, the best of which fell in the second half to an unmarked Mauro Arambarri who dragged wide with only Courtois to beat.

Courtois came to Madrid's rescue in stoppage time, commanding his six-yard box to deny Peter Gonzalez and Juanmi as they tried to force the ball home from close range.

Getafe substitute Alvaro Rodriguez, who is on loan from Madrid, nearly snatched an equalizer at the death, but saw his low shot beaten away by Courtois.

Earlier on Wednesday, Inaki Williams fired Athletic Bilbao to a 1-0 home win over Las Palmas, strengthening its chances of direct qualification for next season's Champions League.

The Basque side sits fourth with five games to go, eight points clear of fifth-placed Villarreal, which suffered a 3-0 defeat at Celta Vigo.

Bilbao also has a Europa League semifinal against Manchester United to come, and should it win that, it will play the final at its home stadium.

Five La Liga sides qualify for the Champions League this season. Sixth-placed Betis is a point behind Villarreal ahead of its encounter with rock-bottom Valladolid on Thursday.

A fifth-minute goal from Williams, after he turned a defender in the box and side-footed home with the outside of his boot, was enough for all three points.

Bilbao needed two sharp saves from Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon before halftime, as relegation-threatened Las Palmas went down fighting.

Alaves climbed out of the bottom three at the expense of Las Palmas with a 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad.

AFP