Getafe’s first league game ended in a 0-0 draw for Barcelona. A VAR ruling didn’t go Barcelona’s way late in the game after Raphinha was sent off for elbowing an opponent in the first half.
In the 42nd minute, Raphinha punched Getafe defender Gastón Álvarez in the head with his right elbow. Barcelona played with one less player until Getafe sent Jaime Mata off in the 57th minute for a hit on Ronald Araujo that earned him a second yellow card.
Barcelona had more reason to protest when it thought it had a penalty kick after Araujo was fouled inside the area about 10 minutes into stoppage time, but a video review showed that Barcelona midfielder Gavi had committed a handball.
Xavi denied that handball existed. “They said only clear handballs would be called, but that didn’t happen. It wasn’t fair.”
Ilkay Gundogan debuted for Barcelona after joining from Manchester City in the offseason.
Atletico Madrid faces Granada on Monday, while Real Madrid defeated Athletic Bilbao 2-0 on Saturday.
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Celta Vigo’s first match under Rafa Benítez was a 2-0 home loss against Osasuna.
After taking over the team in the offseason, the veteran coach’s Celta debut was a loss.
At Vigo’s Balados stadium, Celta managed just a single shot on goal. Osasuna, who finished seventh last season and qualified for the Europa Conference League, scored with Rubén García and Moi Goméz.
Bentez’s last job as a coach was with the English team Everton. He has also coached Real Madrid, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Chelsea, and Napoli. In 2005, he helped Liverpool win the Champions League.
Before and after coaching Newcastle and Everton, Benítez worked in China. He takes over a Celta team that ended 13th in Spanish last season.
When Barcelona started defending their Spanish league title on Sunday, there were a lot of complaints but no celebrations.
Barcelona’s first league game was a 0-0 draw at Getafe. Raphinha was sent off in the first half for elbowing an opponent, and then late in the game, a VAR ruling didn’t go Barcelona’s way.
In the 42nd minute, Raphinha punched Getafe defender Gastón Álvarez in the head with his right elbow. Barcelona played with one less player until Getafe sent Jaime Mata off in the 57th minute for a hit on Ronald Araujo that earned him a second yellow card.
Barcelona had more reason to protest when it thought it had a penalty kick after Araujo was fouled inside the area about 10 minutes into stoppage time, but a video review showed that Barcelona midfielder Gavi had committed a handball.
Xavi denied that handball existed. “They said only clear handballs would be called, but that didn’t happen. It wasn’t fair.”
Ilkay Gundogan debuted for Barcelona after joining from Manchester City in the offseason.
Atletico Madrid faces Granada on Monday, while Real Madrid defeated Athletic Bilbao 2-0 on Saturday.
Celta Vigo’s first match under Rafa Benítez was a 2-0 home loss against Osasuna.
After taking over the team in the offseason, the veteran coach’s Celta debut was a loss.
At Vigo’s Balados stadium, Celta managed just a single shot on goal. Osasuna, who finished seventh last season and qualified for the Europa Conference League, scored with Rubén García and Moi Goméz.
Bentez’s last job as a coach was with the English team Everton. He has also coached Real Madrid, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Chelsea, and Napoli. In 2005, he helped Liverpool win the Champions League.
During and after coaching Newcastle and Everton, Benítez worked in China. After finishing 13th in Spanish last season, he takes over the Celta team.
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