Barcelona 4-0 Getafe: Barca ease past visitors to climb to second

Raphinha, Joao Felix, Frenkie De Jong, and Fermin Lopez scored as Barcelona defeated Getafe 4-0 on Saturday, propelling Xavi Hernandez's side to second place in the LaLiga standings.

It was a much-needed victory for last year's champions, who are having a difficult season and have been under pressure since coach Xavi announced he would step down at the end of the season.

In a half-empty Olympic stadium, the hosts dominated from the start, with Raphinha opening the scoring in the 20th minute.

In a quick counter, the Brazilian winger beat the offside trap, latching onto Jules Kounde's long pass and blasting the ball past Getafe goalkeeper David Soria.

Raphinha squandered two excellent opportunities, and Luis Milla nearly equalised in the 49th minute with a long-range strike that hit Marc-Andre ter Stegen's right post.

Joao Felix extended Barcelona's lead in the 53rd minute with a tap-in from Andreas Christiensen's low cross from the right, and De Jong scored the third from the edge of the box after good work from Raphinha.

Substitute Lopez scored a rebound in extra time to complete the scoring for the champions, who moved to second in the standings with 57 points, five behind leaders Real Madrid and one ahead of third-placed Girona, both of whom have a game in hand.

Real Madrid host Sevilla on Sunday, while Catalan upstarts Girona face Rayo Vallecano, looking to rebound from two consecutive losses and keep their surprise LaLiga title hopes alive.

"We played a very complete game both in defence and attack, I'm satisfied with the performance and the result, now we'll wait to see what Girona and Real do..." Xavi told Movistar Plus.

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