Alavés secured a comfortable 3-0 victory over Getafe at the Estadio de Mendizorrosa on Friday evening. The result moves them up to second place in La Liga, four points clear of the mid-table pack. To be fair, the contest was decided before the final whistle, with Getafe's fortunes turning in the second half.
Kiko Femenía's red card in the 42nd minute changed everything. The visitors had already seen their attacking shape disrupted, but losing a full-back forced them into a defensive crouch. By then, Alavés had already carved out three big chances, though only one would find the net.
N. Tenaglia's goal in the 73rd minute was the breakthrough they needed. The match statistics tell one story, but on the pitch, Getafe's goalkeeper was stretched more than once. They had created zero big chances themselves, while Alavés were constantly probing.
The second half brought a flurry of activity. M. Rodriguez struck in the 90th minute, and Mariano Díaz added a second in stoppage time after his own goal in the 90+2nd minute. Four yellow cards for Getafe told the tale of a team that gave away too many cheap fouls.
The numbers support what we saw. Alavés had 15 shots with 8 on target, while Getafe could only manage 5 shots with 2 on target. Their expected goals figures were 1.93 to 0.24, which perhaps understates the gulf in quality.
Alavés now sit second with 10 points from four games, their unbeaten run stretching to five matches. Getafe remain 15th with just 4 points, and their recent results suggest they have something to prove.