Barcelona endured a poor night in their La Liga opener by picking up a tight 0-0 draw at Getafe, a game which was marred by several yellow cards and three red cards on Sunday, including Barca coach Xavi Hernandez.
Champions Barca dominated the game from the start, with Brazilian winger Raphinha posing a huge threat to the home defense creating several chances.
He almost helped the visitors open the scoring in the 36th minute but goalkeeper David Soria saved the Getafe net from conceding.
But Raphinha lost patience and was sent off in the 42nd minute for elbowing Gastón Álvarez in the head.
Getafe were also reduced to 10 men in the 57th minute after Jaime Mata picked up a second yellow card.
Last season’s La Liga top scorer Robert Lewandowski nearly put Barcelona in front with a header from close range that Alvarez saved in the 63rd minute.
Barca coach Xavi also received a red card in the 71st minute after complaining about the referee’s decision.
There was more controversy in injury time when referee Cesar Soto Grado denied a penalty for a foul on Araujo.
After nearly 20 minutes of added time, Barca had to settle for receiving one point in the opening game of the 2023/24 season.
The last time they won a LaLiga match at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez was in 2019.
Since then, they have drawn 0-0 three times and lost 0-1 to Getafe.
“Referees are the ones who let it go that far, that’s how it is,” a visibly frustrated Xavi told DAZN as quoted by ESPN. “I told him he allowed too many [fouls] and that’s why he took me off. And I didn’t see any handball in the last game.
“It’s a shame he gave us 20 minutes of extra time. We’re fooling ourselves, that’s ridiculous,” he continued
“Last year we started in the same way and see how we ended [as champions]. I’m happy because we played well with 10 players. We had chances but we didn’t manage to take them,” concluded Xavi.
