There were wins for the top three, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Valencia, on Saturday evening, the Catalans maintaining their unbeaten run.
Messi opened the scoring for Barcelona in the fifth minute and had lots of chances to add to that lead early on but failed to do so.
Halfway through the first half, Barcelona were reduced to ten men after Piqué was sent packing for a bad tackle on Getafe’s Rafa, not that this stopped them from going forward. Xavi added the second goal and then in injury time, Getafe were awarded a penalty and Soldado duly converted from the spot. The incident resulted in Marquez also being ordered back to the dressing room.
Final result Barcelona 2-1 Getafe.
Real Madrid are still five points behind the leaders after a 3-0 win against Espanyol. Sergio Ramos gave Real Madrid an early lead and then Kaka made it two midway through the first half. Higuaín, on as a substitute, put the result beyond doubt one minute before the end of the match. It was Real’s eleventh home win in a row.
Valencia consolidated third place in La Liga with a 2-0 victory over Valladolid and remain eight points behind Real Madrid.
Banega opened the scoring in the ninth minute and David Villa added the second after thirty minutes,