Barcelona continue winning run in La Liga

A first-half strike by top-scorer Robert Lewandowski earned a below-strength Barcelona a 1-0 LaLiga win over lowly Getafe on Wednesday to maintain their 100% record after seven games.

Barcelona, who rested Pedri and were without the injured Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Dani Olmo, Gavi, Frenkie de Jong, Ronald Araujo, Fermin Lopez and Andreas Christensen, went ahead through Lewandowski's close-range strike in the 19th minute after a poor mistake by Getafe goalkeeper David Soria.

Soria failed to hold on to a Jules Kounde cross and Lewandowski, who was lurking inside the box, pounced on the ball to fire home for his seventh goal of the season.

The hosts dominated proceedings with almost 80% of possession and 16 goal attempts, but wasted numerous opportunities to win by a wider margin.

Soria made fine saves to deny efforts by Lamine Yamal, Lewandowski and three from Raphinha, who also missed a sitter in the 82nd minute, badly misfiring a header from a Kounde cross.

Barca almost paid a heavy price for their missed chances as the visitors could have scored an equaliser in the dying moments.

Getafe fullback Juan Iglesias found Borja Mayoral unmarked inside the box from a quick counter attack, but the striker sliced his first-time effort in the 95th minute.

Barca are top of the standings on 21 points, four ahead second-placed Real Madrid. Getafe are second from bottom on four points.

"When you dominate a game but go only one goal ahead, the opponent sees a possibility of making a run for a better result and often that leads them to push you harder in the last minutes," Kounde told Movistar Plus.

"But we played a good, controlled game and we could have scored more goals. Sometimes it happens, you can't always win with a big goal difference. Getafe are always a difficult team to handle. It may have cost us more than usual, but we had the chances to win the game more comfortably."

Barca will now visit seventh-placed Osasuna on Saturday before hosting Young Boys in the Champions League next week, when they will look to rebound following a 2-1 loss in their opening match at Monaco.

Girona held by Rayo Vallecano in goalless stalemate

Girona suffered another setback in a poor start to the season when they were held to a 0-0 home draw by Rayo Vallecano in LaLiga on Wednesday, with the visitors almost claiming all three points in the dying moments.

Winless in four consecutive games in all competitions, last year's surprise challengers Girona are 12th in the LaLiga standings on eight points, 10 behind leaders Barcelona who have a game in hand and will host Getafe later on Wednesday.

Girona dominated proceedings with over 70% of possession but were wasteful, missing several opportunities including three great chances from close range in a dour match.

New Girona signing Yaser Asprilla missed a clear chance late in the first half, firing a first-time effort wide from just outside the six-yard box, and he had a curling strike in the 71st minute that hit the crossbar.

Cristhian Stuani and Miguel Gutierrez also wasted great opportunities from close range for the hosts minutes later, before Rayo's Alvaro Garcia missed another easy chance in the 88th minute.

After going toe-to-toe with Real Madrid in the title race last season before finishing third and qualifying for European football for the first time in their history, Girona have only two wins in seven LaLiga games.

They visit ninth-placed Celta Vigo on Sunday before hosting Feyenoord in the Champions League next week, when they will bid for their first win in the competition following a heartbreaking last-minute 1-0 loss on their debut at Paris St Germain.