MADRID: Barcelona fell to their first defeat in La Liga under new coach Ronald Koeman as they lost 1-0 at Getafe last night.
Their loss followed champions Real Madrid’s shock 1-0 defeat at home to Cadiz earlier yesterday and left Barca ninth in the standings with seven points after four games, a week before the ‘Clasico’ at home to Madrid.
Getafe forward Jaime Mata sent goalkeeper Neto the wrong way from the penalty spot to score the only goal in the 56th minute after Barca midfielder Frenkie de Jong had been penalised for treading on the foot of Djene Dakonam.
Barcelona had played well in the first half and almost took the lead when Lionel Messi thumped a shot against the post, while Antoine Griezmann missed an even clearer chance before halftime, blazing over when through on goal unchallenged.
Real also suffered their first La Liga defeat in over seven months.
Honduran forward Anthony Lozano put Cadiz ahead in the 16th minute, darting between Madrid defenders Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane to meet a cushioned header from Alvaro Negredo and lifting the ball over keeper Thibaut Courtois into the net.
Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane made four substitutions at halftime in a bid to turn the game around and brought on Luka Jovic later on, the Serbian striker soon putting the ball in the net but seeing his effort ruled out for a clear offside.
Vinicius Jr missed the target with a free header, while Karim Benzema struck the bar from the edge of the area and Cadiz clung on to claim their first league win over Madrid since 1991.