After spending most of the season teetering on the edge of the relegation zone, Getafe are steadily moving up the LaLiga standings.
The team’s stunning victory away at Girona last time out continued Los Azulones’ gradual climb up the table, putting them just five points off the European places, while opening up a seven-point cushion above the drop zone.
Getafe’s record since the return of LaLiga in 2025 after the winter break makes for impressive reading. They remain unbeaten in their six league outings. In this period, the side from the south of Madrid has secured a remarkable four wins on the road and two draws at home, scoring nine goals and only conceding three in the process.
One of these recent home draws at the Coliseum dealt a considerable blow to Barcelona’s title hopes (1-1) and Getafe will be keen to do more damage to the aspirations of Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid who still have to play there.
Jose Bordalas runs a tight ship
The team’s success earned manager Jose Bordalas the LaLiga EA Sports Manager of the Month award for January, for the first time in the coach’s career.
The Alicante-born coach, in his second spell at the club, adopts a pragmatic approach that centres around defending compactly, which means teams struggle to break them down.
Bordalas’s extremely well-drilled side have kept eight clean sheets and boast the second-best defensive record – conceding 18 goals.
Getafe have committed the most fouls (403), and not surprisingly, they have the highest number of yellow cards to their name (74). They also top the LaLiga charts for the most balls and individual duels contested.
Basically, Getafe are a tough team to play against and they frustrate the opposition by allowing very little time or space to manoeuvre.
Consistent spine in line-up
The team’s disciplined set-up and compactness can be largely attributed to Bordalas being able to field a consistent spine in his lineups for most of the season.
From the 24 LaLiga matchdays so far, the ever-present goalkeeper, David Soria, has played all 24 of Getafe’s games between the posts.
The back four or five has regularly featured Djene Dakonam (22), Omar Alderete (22), Juan Iglesias (24) and Diego Rico (22).
This defensive base, boosted by the protection from the central-midfield pairing of Luis Milla (21) and Mauro Arambarri (22), has provided a solid foundation for Bordalas to build his system around.
When he has opted to change personnel, he has mainly done so in the wide positions and in attack without tinkering too much with the defensive spine of the team.
Reliance on Mayoral for goals
Getafe’s stunning form since the turn of the year has coincided with the return of star forward Borja Mayoral from injury.
The centre-forward, born just down the road in Parla, is still getting back to full fitness after a lengthy spell on the sidelines, followed by several injury relapses this term.
The clinical striker banged in 15 league goals last season – before being ruled out for the rest of the campaign – which secured his side 14 points and represented 35% of Getafe’s total goal tally.
The striker’s exploits earned him the Trofeo Zarra, an award bestowed annually by the sports newspaper Marca to the top scorers of Spanish nationality in the Primera Division and Segunda Division.
Limited playing time means Mayoral has only managed three goals in 2024/25. However, his goal just 26 seconds after being thrown on against Girona proved to be the winner and it illustrates just how important he is to the team.
Without Mayoral, Bordalas’s men have struggled to find the back of the net, especially from open play. Collectively, they have only managed 20 league goals – the joint second-worst total – although they have been more clinical since the start of 2025.
However, 25% of their goals have come from penalty kicks and the team’s top scorer is central midfielder Mauro Arambarri with six goals, three of which have been penalties.
Despite Bordalas’s efforts to bolster his attack with three offensive summer signings of Bertug Yildirim (from Stade Rennais), Alvaro Rodriguez (season-long loan from Real Madrid) and Christantus Uche (Ceuta), along with the recent loan move for Juanmi Jimenez (Betis), the new additions have so far only mustered six goals between them.
Keeping Mayoral fit may well prove to be the difference between the team securing another respectable mid-table finish or stealing one of the European football spots.
Yet Bordalas remains more cautious, even though his side are firmly on course to spend their ninth successive season in Spain’s top-flight.
“Not a single player is thinking about anything other than survival,” said the manager after his side emerged victorious from Girona.
However, with both Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid still to visit Getafe’s raucous stomping ground, Los Azulones might also have their say in the LaLiga title.
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