FC Barcelona did not start the first game of the season well. In a very rough game, with constant fouls and interruptions, Raphinha has seen a clear red card for an attack on Gastón, leaving the team with ten with the score 0-0 and the whole game ahead.
It was in the 42nd minute of the game when Raphinha nudged the Getafe player Gastón, who was left lying on the ground. Immediately the entire bench jumped and claimed the referee Soto Grado, who did not hesitate to reach out pocket and show him the red card.
The Brazilian was being the most outstanding footballer of the blaugrana attack, and also the object of more fouls by a Getafe that was only thus managing to stop him. His was Barcelona’s best chance to score after 36 minutes with a cross shot that was cleared by David Soria, bounced off Stefan Mitrovic’s chest and crashed into Getafe’s left post.
Shortly before being sent off, Raphinha had been booked along with ex-Barça player Carles Aleñà for a clash between them.
The referee from La Rioja had a job in a game that was quite interrupted by the constant fouls committed by the local team, which also saw Mitrovic get admonished for an elbow on Raphinha himself.
In the second half the forces were even when Jaime Mata was shown the second yellow card for a clear foul on Araújo in the 57th minute. But the expulsions would not end here. In 70, Soto Grado has shown the direct red card to Xavi Hernández for protesting. The FC Barcelona coach was claiming a foul by Djené on Abde on the edge of the area.
The game would end goalless, but with a lot of tension and with the VAR reviewing a possible penalty in favor of Barça that would end in nothing. The Coliseum Alfonso Pérez is a fiefdom that the Blaugrana team has been choking on, who have not beaten Getafe in their fiefdom in the last three visits. The last two seasons it has not gone beyond a goalless draw and in 2020-21 Getafe won with a goal from Jaime Mata. To find the most recent Catalan triumph, you have to go back to September 2019, Luis Suárez and Junior Firpo scored the goals of the blaugrana victory.
