GETAFE, March 13 (Primera Liga) - Real Madrid's miserable week ended at an all-time low with a defeat at near-neighbours Getafe which all but ends their Primera Liga title hopes.
Madrid travelled to the southern suburbs of the Spanish capital four days after their Champions League exit to Juventus but if anybody was expecting a reaction against a side whose budget is one-thirtieth of the Spanish giants' they were to be disappointed.
Apart from a bright 15 minutes at the beginning of the game, Wanderley Luxemburgo's men were second best against a side who were more motivated and who ran Madrid off the park.
A 37th-minute goal from Raul Albiol, following a dreadful mistake from Madrid defender Ivan Helguera, handed the hosts a surprise lead and Riki doubled the advantage at the start of the second half.
Santiago Solari reduced the arrears with a 25-yard volley a minute from time, but it came too late and cannot disguise the fact that Madrid are 11 points behind Barcelona.
Madrid started brightly with the much-maligned Raul looking sharp. He burst into the Getafe penalty area after three minutes but was unable to take the ball past Getafe goalkeeper Sergio Aragoneses.
Roberto Carlos saw a shot saved after 10 minutes and seven minutes later Raul forced Aragoneses into a flying save following a 25-yard curling shot.
That was it for Madrid in the first half as Getafe shored up their defence and began creating chances at the other end.
Riki, using his pace, was a constant threat and Madrid had little answer to the efforts of central midfielders Diego Rivas and Gabi.
However, it was veteran striker Gica Craioveanu who opened Madrid up with a series of intelligent passes and it was one of them, from a short corner, which led to the first goal.
The Romanian's ball into the area should have resulted in a routine clearance for Helguera but he could only manage to slice it up into the air and when it came down, Riki was on hand to fire a volley past Iker Casillas.
Luxemburgo's half-time team-talk went out of the window within two minutes of the restart.
Mario Cotelo picked up a loose ball and played it through to Riki and the striker made no mistake with a crisp finish against his former club.
Most observers expected Madrid to launch a furious fightback with the title on the line, but it never really materialised.
In fact if anybody looked like scoring it was Getafe, who continued to control the ball in the Madrid half.
Aragoneses did save from Walter Samuel and Luis Figo, but bookings for Thomas Gravesen and Samuel only served to highlight Madrid's frustration.
Substitute Michael Owen got his chance to impress after 65 minutes but did not receive one decent pass during his time on the pitch.
Solari, another substitute, pulled one back but Madrid deserved nothing more.
It was a woeful performance from the visitors and gave further ammunition to those who believe the squad nicknamed the `galacticos' should be broken up in the summer.
This performance, against a club who were still amateur as recently as 1987, was simply not acceptable.
Madrid travelled to the southern suburbs of the Spanish capital four days after their Champions League exit to Juventus but if anybody was expecting a reaction against a side whose budget is one-thirtieth of the Spanish giants' they were to be disappointed.
Apart from a bright 15 minutes at the beginning of the game, Wanderley Luxemburgo's men were second best against a side who were more motivated and who ran Madrid off the park.
A 37th-minute goal from Raul Albiol, following a dreadful mistake from Madrid defender Ivan Helguera, handed the hosts a surprise lead and Riki doubled the advantage at the start of the second half.
Santiago Solari reduced the arrears with a 25-yard volley a minute from time, but it came too late and cannot disguise the fact that Madrid are 11 points behind Barcelona.
Madrid started brightly with the much-maligned Raul looking sharp. He burst into the Getafe penalty area after three minutes but was unable to take the ball past Getafe goalkeeper Sergio Aragoneses.
Roberto Carlos saw a shot saved after 10 minutes and seven minutes later Raul forced Aragoneses into a flying save following a 25-yard curling shot.
That was it for Madrid in the first half as Getafe shored up their defence and began creating chances at the other end.
Riki, using his pace, was a constant threat and Madrid had little answer to the efforts of central midfielders Diego Rivas and Gabi.
However, it was veteran striker Gica Craioveanu who opened Madrid up with a series of intelligent passes and it was one of them, from a short corner, which led to the first goal.
The Romanian's ball into the area should have resulted in a routine clearance for Helguera but he could only manage to slice it up into the air and when it came down, Riki was on hand to fire a volley past Iker Casillas.
Luxemburgo's half-time team-talk went out of the window within two minutes of the restart.
Mario Cotelo picked up a loose ball and played it through to Riki and the striker made no mistake with a crisp finish against his former club.
Most observers expected Madrid to launch a furious fightback with the title on the line, but it never really materialised.
In fact if anybody looked like scoring it was Getafe, who continued to control the ball in the Madrid half.
Aragoneses did save from Walter Samuel and Luis Figo, but bookings for Thomas Gravesen and Samuel only served to highlight Madrid's frustration.
Substitute Michael Owen got his chance to impress after 65 minutes but did not receive one decent pass during his time on the pitch.
Solari, another substitute, pulled one back but Madrid deserved nothing more.
It was a woeful performance from the visitors and gave further ammunition to those who believe the squad nicknamed the `galacticos' should be broken up in the summer.
This performance, against a club who were still amateur as recently as 1987, was simply not acceptable.
