Madrid (AFP)

A shy step towards the title: thanks to a penalty goal from its captain Sergio Ramos, Liga leader Real Madrid defeated Getafe 1-0 on Thursday at the end of matchday 33 and relegated Barça four points behind him.

The man of big matches: thanks to a penalty caused by Dani Carvajal and transformed by central defender and captain Sergio Ramos (79th), the club's second best scorer in La Liga this season with 9 goals, Real put their hand on the Spanish champion trophy and now has 74 points. His rival, FC Barcelona, ​​hooked by Atlético Madrid 2-2 Tuesday at Camp Nou, has 70 points.

A captain showing the way: badly embarked during all the meeting, cornered by the high pressure exerted by the players of Getafe, the men of Zinédine Zidane had to go back to their captain-defender-goalscorer to get them out of this bad patch, pocket a sixth success in six games since the resumption of the championship, and take a big step towards the title.

- "Nothing won" -

"It's my role to say that we haven't won anything yet. It's reality, the real one. As long as the season is not over, until you are mathematically champion, you will not can not do anything. I was also a player in this role. It is not because we made 3-4 good results that it is folded ", had warned Zinedine Zidane Wednesday in press conference before match.

And his words seemed divinatory Thursday, as Real seemed tactically mute, stifled by the high defense of Getafe.

Despite the victory, his players must take this short success as a warning. Because Thursday evening at the Di Stéfano stadium, it was Getafe who was the best team: the players in the suburbs of Madrid spent most of their time in the white camp, maintaining a strong pressing to corner a Thibaut Courtois always flawless in its cages.

The young left midfielder Marc Cucurella (21), loaned by Barça and then bought for 10 million euros on Tuesday by Getafe, was particularly active, both in recovering the ball and in offensive animation for Getafe, who still dreams of the Champions League, five points behind the 4th, Sevilla FC.

- Signs of shortness of breath? -

Result: the blunders have multiplied in the men of Zinédine Zidane, like this passage, on the return from the locker room, when Luka Modric sent a short pass directly in touch, imitated by Thibaut Courtois a few seconds later (50th) .

"There is no excess of confidence, nobody will say that it is folded. I was a player, I went through this situation, I lived this experience. I know very well what it is , and the players know very well that nothing has been won yet, "Zidane said on Wednesday.

First signs of shortness of breath? While FC Barcelona rolled out the red carpet for the title at Real Madrid on Tuesday by conceding a draw against Atlético and increasing internal bickering, the White House provided the essentials on Thursday, but without shining.

And the path to the title could still come up against a new pitfall: the French central defender Raphaël Varane, one of the pillars of the Zidane system with the indestructible Sergio Ramos, had to give way to Eder Militao in the 32nd, just after the cool break.

The world champion went to the locker room with a towel around his neck, visibly ringed after receiving a ball in the face a few minutes before, on a corner.

Before placing both hands on the Spanish champion trophy, Real will therefore have to learn to prevent these warning shots, starting Sunday (2:00 p.m.) in Bilbao.

© 2020 AFP