Barcelona closes in on La Liga title without the injured Yamal

After scoring, Fermín crossed his arms and held up his fingers to make the “304” sign that Yamal uses to celebrate his goals in reference to the final three numbers of the post code for his hometown just north of Barcelona.

Rashford went on as a substitute and sealed the 2-0 victory in the 74th with a solo effort.

Barcelona increased the gap over second-placed Real Madrid to a commanding 11 points with just five rounds to go, including a clasico between them at Camp Nou on May 10.

“We know that we have a big lead but there are still games left. It sounds like a cliché but it is true," Fermín said. "We have to keep this going before we can become champions."

Getafe’s physical and no-frills defense stymied Barcelona for half a decade in their meetings at Coliseum Stadium. Barcelona had scored only once in its previous five trips to southern Madrid, a run of four straight draws and a loss in 2020. Barcelona’s previous win here was in 2019.

And Saturday’s game started as yet another slog for Barcelona until Pau Cubarsí won a tackle in midfield and Pedri González seized the chance to catch Getafe’s defense finally out of position. The Spain midfielder fed a superb pass forward to beat the hosts’ offside trap, and Fermín did the rest by firing past David Soria.

Then, with Getafe pushing forward in hopes of a late equalizer, Rashford raced onto a long ball by Robert Lewandowski and dribbled more than half the pitch before he sized up Soria and fired home.

Barcelona announced on Thursday that Yamal would miss the rest of the season after he picked up a muscle injury in his left leg the day before from converting a penalty in a 1-0 win over Celta Vigo.

“I want to send him a big hug from here,” Fermín said about Yamal after the game. “He is very important for us. It is too bad he can’t play but now he can recover well and play in the World Cup.”

Little-used forward Roony Bardghji started in Yamal’s spot on the right side of Barcelona’s attack. The 20-year-old Swede fired wide on Barcelona’s only scoring opportunity before Fermín broke through.

Getafe, which has overachieved this campaign again under coach José Bordalás, remained in sixth place and in the fight for a Europa League berth.

Madrid's already scant hopes of catching Barcelona took another blow on Friday when Real Betis scored in stoppage time to draw 1-1. Madrid is eyeing back-to-back seasons without a major title since the arrival of Kylian Mbappé.

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