Getafe took another step towards Champions League qualification on Saturday as Jorge Molina scored twice in a sensational 3-0 win over fellow top-four contenders Valencia.
The 37-year-old Molina capped a storming performance with two goals in the second half before Jaime Mata added a third with three minutes left, after Valencia’s Alessandro Florenzi had been sent off.
Getafe stay third but moved five points ahead of Valencia in fifth. Sevilla will again pull level on points with them by winning away at Celta Vigo on Sunday.
Up next for Jose Bordalas’ side is a trip to Barcelona next weekend but on this evidence, it will be the stumbling Catalans feeling nervous ahead of that game at Camp Nou.
Getafe face La Liga’s defending champions on the back of four consecutive victories, in which they have score nine goals and conceded none.
They bullied Valencia from start to finish, faster to the ball and hungrier in the tackles, with all three goals coming from Getafe’s players running harder or reacting quicker than their opponents.
After missing out on the top four to Valencia on the final day of last season, beating them might have carried some extra satisfaction and delivered another dose of belief that this term they can finish the job.
Bordalas took over Getafe in 2016 with the team 21st in Segunda but led them to promotion that same season before finishing eighth in their first year in the top flight, and then fifth last term.
After Barca, they will play Ajax in the Europa League.
Valencia, meanwhile, have won only four out of nine games since the turn of the year, with their own Champions League last 16 tie against Atalanta fast-approaching.
Getafe were the better side in the first half but had to wait until 13 minutes into the second for Molina’s opener. He slid the ball to Mata and then beat two Valencia defenders to the rebound from Jaume Domenech’s save.
Dani Parejo was at fault for the second as he gave the ball away in midfield and one pass set Molina free. He had three defenders to beat but somehow bundled through, a final pirouette making space for a smart finish.
Florenzi was sent off with 12 minutes left for a frustrated spear tackle from behind on Marc Cucurella before Mata made it three.
This time Angel spun the hapless Mouctar Diakhaby before laying the ball on his teammate. Mata dummied Domenech and had an open net.
