Rotated Madrid side beat Getafe

Madrid, May 15: Real Madrid warmed up for their decisive Champions League semi-final visit to face Manchester City with a 1-0 win over Getafe on Saturday in La Liga.

The champions' slim victory ensured leaders Barcelona must beat city rivals Espanyol on Sunday in Cornella to be able to clinch the title this weekend.

Marco Asensio broke the deadlock in the 70th minute with a deflected strike from distance, in a game of few chances.

Madrid's win saw them climb provisionally second above Atletico Madrid, 11 points behind Barcelona. Carlo Ancelotti rotated heavily to keep his key players fresh ahead of the second leg battle with Pep Guardiola's City, following the 1-1 draw last Tuesday in Madrid.

Ancelotti lined up with just three of the side that started the first leg -- goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, Eduardo Camavinga and Fede Valverde.

Ancelotti, disgruntled by his team's lacklustre display, brought on midfielder Toni Kroos for Ferland Mendy at half-time, moving Camavinga to left-back. Vinicius Junior and Luka Modric soon followed.

Breakthrough

Courtois produced a fine save to deny Iglesias from distance as Getafe hunted for points vital for their survival hopes.

However Asensio sent Madrid ahead with 20 minutes remaining when his shot from 20 yards deflected off Nemanja Maksimovic and past the helpless David Soria.

Asensio almost doubled his tally with a header from Kroos' fine cross but Soria pulled off an impressive save to deny him. The defeat leaves Jose Bordalas' Getafe 18th, in the relegation zone, level on points with Valencia, 17th, who visit Celta Vigo on Sunday.

Earlier Villarreal romped to a 5-1 win over Athletic Bilbao to cut the gap on fourth-place Real Sociedad to five points.

Girona held La Real to a 2-2 draw earlier on, giving Villarreal a sliver of hope that they can usurp the Basque side in the race for Champions League qualification. (AFP)