Valencia lose to 10-man Getafe, trail Barca by 5

madrid — Barcelona stumbled for the second consecutive week but it still gained ground at the top of the Spanish league.

A day after being held to a 2-2 home draw against Celta Vigo — giving its nearest challengers a chance to move closer — the Catalan club saw its advantage at the top strengthen after second-place Valencia lost 1-0 to 10-man Getafe on Sunday.

Valencia had a chance to cut Barcelona’s lead to two points, but it left the match against midtable Getafe five points behind after conceding a second-half goal by Markel Bergara.

Atletico Madrid gained ground on Saturday by defeating Real Sociedad 2-1, but fourth-place Real Madrid missed its chance after drawing 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. Fifth-place Sevilla won to get within eight points of the lead.

Valencia hadn’t lost in 16 games in all competitions this season, and hadn’t been held scoreless since a 0-0 draw against Atletico Madrid in the third round. It had won nine straight before a league draw against Barcelona last weekend. “We have to move on and try to starting winning again as soon as possible,” Valencia midfielder Dani Parejo said.

Valencia played with an extra man from the 25th minute at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez as Mauro Arambarri was sent off for a foul that prompted his second yellow card in a four-minute span. The Uruguay midfielder had been shown his first card in the 21st after another foul.

“We are thrilled to be able to win against a team which had been playing so well,” Bergara said. “We knew it was going to be extremely difficult, and to win after going down a man so early, it makes us very happy.” Valencia struggled to create scoring opportunities despite the extra player, while Getafe kept threatening on counterattacks. —

We have to move on and try to starting winning again as soon as possible Dani Parejo