Real Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa insisted that the LaLiga title race isn’t over after his team’s surprise 1-0 home defeat to Getafe left them four points behind leaders Barcelona.
Martín Satriano scored a spectacular first-half goal, and Madrid were unable to convert a number of chances, as Getafe won their first game at the Bernabéu in 18 years.
A tense finale saw both sets of players clash on the touchline at the final whistle, while Madrid’s Franco Mastantuono was sent off in the 95th minute for dissent.
“No, of course not,” Arbeloa said in his post match news conference, when asked if the loss effectively ended Madrid’s title aspirations. “There are 36 points left, and we have to fight for them. Nobody here will give up, this is Real Madrid. Four points is a gap we think we can bridge.”
The Getafe defeat is Madrid’s second in a row in LaLiga, after they lost 2-1 at Osasuna on Feb. 21.
The team is currently without star forward Kylian Mbappé, who has a knee sprain, and midfielder Jude Bellingham with a thigh problem.
“It’s a game where we could have done better,” Arbeloa said. “We had much clearer chances than them, but football isn’t about what you deserve. Getafe did what they do. Nothing happened that we didn’t expect to happen.”
Madrid visit Celta Vigo on Friday, before hosting Manchester City in the Champions League round of 16 next week.
“We have great players, a great squad, and players who will recover and help us a lot,” Arbeloa said. “We can do things better on the pitch. I understand the criticism after a defeat like this.
“We created chances to score. Can we play better? That’s also true. I can’t criticise the effort of the players. It’s my job to improve the play of the team.”
The referee’s report said Mastantuono had been shown a red card for shouting “what a disgrace” twice at the official.
“I don’t know exactly what happened,” Arbeloa said. “But he must have said something, and that can’t happen.”
Getafe coach José Bordalás refused to be drawn on whether VAR should have intervened to review an incident in which Antonio Rüdiger appeared to knee the visitors’ Diego Rico in the face.
“Everyone saw it,” Bordalas said. “But I won’t talk about it. What we have to do is enjoy the victory.”
