Jules Kounde has already matched his LaLiga goal haul of last season, after rounding off the scoring for LaLiga holders Barcelona in a 3-0 win over Getafe at the Nou Camp, duly stretching their perfect start with a 23rd successive home league victory.
Defensive solidity has been Getafe’s selling point in the infancy of this LaLiga season, but their resistance was broken inside the opening two minutes.
The hosts had Getafe pinned firmly inside their own half, but were still perhaps a little lucky in how the opener came about, as Anthony Gordon fortuitously collected the ball on the edge of his area, and then saw his strike deflect off a Getafe defender, subsequently wrong-footing David Soria.
Only a last-ditch Nemanja Gudelj block denied Dani Olmo what would’ve been a certain goal, as Barcelona sought a second. However, they didn’t have to wait too much longer to double the advantage.
Again there was luck involved, but only via Zaid Romero’s incompetence, as he gifted the ball to Gabriel Jesus on the edge of his team’s own penalty area, allowing the Brazilian to find the bottom corner in ruthless fashion.
Hansi Flick’s men kept their foot to the floor after the break, creating chance after chance. Jesus was the first to come close when he ghosted in at the back post to head over Gerard Martin’s delivery, before Gordon broke clear through the middle and saw an effort repelled by the legs of Soria.
The Getafe stopper was proving to be an incredibly busy man, denying Olmo with a fine one-handed save shortly before the hour mark, but he was powerless to prevent Kounde prodding home a third from inside the six-yard box when he met Lamine Yamal’s cross.
Now assured of making it eight wins from as many LaLiga rounds, Barca were simply toying with their visitors in the closing stages, and perhaps should have added to their tally when Fermin Lopez spurned a glorious chance to add a fourth, as he blazed a left-footed volley over the bar.
That was never going to affect the result though, as Flick’s men extended their unbeaten LaLiga home H2H record to a whopping 22 matches, winning a ninth such game in succession to leave Getafe to lick their wounds on the back of a fourth successive top-flight away defeat to nil.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jules Kounde (Barcelona)