Getafe 1-2 Barcelona
- Published
Former Tottenham midfielder Paulinho scored a late winner as Barcelona maintained their 100% record in La Liga by coming from behind to beat Getafe.
Paulinho came on as a second-half substitute and powered his way into the box before netting from a tight angle.
Getafe had taken the lead in the first half through Gaku Shibasaki's stunning volley high into the roof of the net.
Ousmane Dembele hobbled off injured on his first league start, as Denis Suarez clipped in Barca's leveller.
The result keeps Ernesto Valverde's side top of the table, having won all four of their games so far this season.
Defending champions Real Madrid travel to Real Sociedad on Sunday (kick-off 19:45 BST). Like Barca, the home side also hold a 100% league record this term, having won all three of their matches.
Full debut to forget for Dembele
Signed in the summer transfer window for a club-record £96.8m to replace Neymar, who joined Paris St-Germain, Dembele was making his first league start for Barcelona.
The Frenchman had appeared as a substitute in the 5-0 thrashing of Espanyol in the last game and provided a late assist for Luis Suarez.
But this was a game to forget for Dembele, as he barely had a sniff of the ball in the 29 minutes he was on the pitch, before hobbling off as he looked like he pulled a hamstring when chasing a ball into the left corner.
The former Borussia Dortmund player was replaced by former Everton man Gerard Deulofeu, but it was the two fellow subs Denis Suarez and Paulinho who made the impact by scoring.
Paulinho's strike was a less than typical Barca goal, as he collected Lionel Messi's pass before driving into the area, showing strength to hold off Getafe defender Djene and striking a finish across Vicente Guaita into the net.
Messi had a free-kick brilliantly saved by Guaita and Getafe could have gained at least a point when Mauro Arambarri's deflected shot struck the foot of the post.
- Published15 September 2017