Aubameyang Rescues Deportivo as Getafe Settle for 1-1 Draw at Home
SportSignals Match Desk · Football analysis desk ·
A match Getafe should have won. That is the blunt truth of it. You have a team coming to your ground, a team that had not lost in their previous four La Liga matches, and you give them a point. Unacceptable. End of.
How It Unfolded
The first half was scrappy and bad-tempered. Three yellow cards inside the opening 45 minutes told you everything about the attitude on the pitch. Iván Azón picked one up for Getafe in the 26th minute. Lucas Noubi followed for Deportivo a minute later. Enes Ünal added a third for Getafe before the break. That is not competitive edge. That is a lack of discipline and basic game management.
Getafe had 64 per cent of the ball across the match and completed 515 passes to Deportivo's 282. The thing is, possession means nothing if you cannot score with it. Getafe managed 15 shots total, which sounds decent until you realise ten of them missed the target completely. They also hit the woodwork once. A lot of noise. Not enough execution.
Terrats Breaks the Deadlock
The breakthrough came in the 66th minute. Ramón Terrats scored with a left-foot shot, assisted by Iván Azón. Credit where it is due. It was a moment of quality in a match that had been crying out for one. Getafe had worked hard enough to deserve the lead and looked set to hold on for three points.
Then Deportivo's manager made his move. Adama Traoré had come on at 62 minutes. By the 71st minute, Yeremay Hernández was also on the pitch. You bring on pace and creativity when you are chasing a game. That is basics. And it worked.
Aubameyang Punishes Getafe's Sloppiness
Seventy-eight minutes. Yeremay Hernández, barely seven minutes into his appearance, put a cross in and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang met it with a header. Goal. That is what desire looks like. A substitute comes on, makes an immediate impact, and a striker of Aubameyang's experience finishes the job. Getafe's defence had no answer for it.
Listen, when you concede a headed goal from a cross, that is not a tactical problem. That is a standards problem. You have to compete in the air. You have to track runners. Getafe did neither well enough in that moment and it cost them two points at home.
The Numbers Tell a Frustrating Story for Getafe
Getafe committed 14 fouls and collected three yellow cards. Deportivo committed nine fouls and picked up one. In terms of discipline, Deportivo were better managed in that respect. Mario Martín added a fourth booking for Getafe deep in stoppage time, a foul in the 90th minute. That is the sort of late sloppiness that sums up a bad day.
Getafe won more duels, 41 to Deportivo's 41, and made 11 tackles to Deportivo's 17. They had more dangerous attacks, 41 to 33. They created more overall threat going forward. But they could not hold a lead for 25 minutes. That is not a tactical failure. That is an accountability failure.
Deportivo, for their part, had 64 per cent possession in their own half of the stats battle when it came to crosses, putting 22 into the box compared to Getafe's 19. Their eight accurate crosses compared to Getafe's six shows they were willing to use the width. The goal came from exactly that. Simple. Effective. The basics done well in the moment that mattered.
Form Context
Getafe came into this match having won two and lost two of their previous five La Liga matches, with just three goals scored across those five games. A low-scoring, defensively cautious side who then ship a late equaliser from a set-piece delivery. That is a contradiction in terms. If you are going to be hard to beat, be hard to beat. Getafe were not hard to beat when it counted.
Deportivo arrived unbeaten in their previous four La Liga matches, winning two and drawing two, with eight goals scored. Every single one of those four matches ended with both sides scoring. Today was no different. Deportivo's attack has been consistent. Their defence has been leaky but that has not stopped them picking up points, and today was another example of exactly that.
Substitutes Changed the Match
Getafe made four substitutions but none of them changed the game in Getafe's favour. Deportivo made three, and two of them directly contributed to the equaliser within minutes of coming on. That is the difference between a manager who reacts and a manager who acts. Getafe's changes were cautious. Deportivo's were decisive.
Francho Serrano came on for Getafe at 76 minutes, replacing Iván Azón who had already picked up a yellow card. Sensible enough. But by that point, Deportivo had already shifted the momentum. Getafe were chasing the game tactically when they should still have been managing a lead.
The Bottom Line
Getafe 1-1 Deportivo La Coruña. A point each. Deportivo will take it and move on. They remain unbeaten in La Liga. Getafe will be furious, or at least they should be. Two points dropped at home, a lead surrendered, a header conceded from a cross. There is no complicated analysis required here. You do not need a laptop to see what went wrong.
Getafe had the ball, had the lead, had the crowd. They lacked the desire to see it out. Deportivo had the attitude to keep competing when the game was against them. One team showed character. The other showed limitations. The scoreline reflects that perfectly.
