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This is an archive article published on February 25, 2008

After ‘foolish’ goal, Real go deeper

Real Madrid’s players were furious with themselves after making a foolish...

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Real Madrid’s players were furious with themselves after making a foolish mistake that gifted Getafe a 1-0 win at the Bernabeu to further erode their advantage at the top of the Primera Liga on Sunday.

When winger Arjen Robben thought he had scored for Real midway through the second half, a large number of players ran to the corner to celebrate with him despite the fact that the linesman’s flag was up and the referee had not awarded a goal.

Raul had been in an offside position in the build up to the goal and Getafe saw their chance.Visiting defender David Belenguer took a quick free kick to launch a four-against-two counter-attack that ended with Nigeria striker Ikechukwu Uche beating Iker Casillas. It was Real’s first home defeat in the league this season.

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“They have scored a goal against us like in a match for four-year-olds,” Real midfielder Guti said afterwards. “We can’t afford to lose games in this way.”

Real sports director Predrag Mijatovic said Getafe should have been called back. “The referee could have stopped the move because we had a lot of players celebrating. Perhaps, in these circumstances, he should have stopped play,” he told Canal Plus television.

The defeat means second-placed Barcelona, who hammered bottom club Levante 5-1 at the Nou Camp, are now just two points behind the leaders.

Real have let slip a nine-point lead since the end of January with three defeats from their last four league games, while Barca appear to be gathering a head of steam.

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“Of course the league is wide open. Barcelona hold their destiny in their hands but so do we. We’ll keep on fighting,” said Real coach Bernd Schuster.

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