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Lionel Messi is the dribble king – Seven deadly stats as Barcelona beat Getafe 2-1

Brendon Netto

21:21 16/09/2017

Barcelona came from behind to beat Getafe 2-1 with Paulinho popping up with the winner.

Gaku Shibasaki put Getafe ahead with a stunner but Denis Suarez levelled it up before Paulinho clinched all three points.

The win sees the Catalans extend their lead to seven points over Real Madrid in La Liga.

However, it did come at a cost as record signing Ousmane Dembele limped off with a hamstring injury.

Here are seven deadly stats from the encounter.

TER STEGEN’S MILESTONE

The Barcelona custodian made his 100th appearance for the side. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to mark it with a clean sheet but no blame could be attached to him for the goal.

Shibasaki’s volley was an exquisite hit and the German will recognise that as well. At only 25, he has plenty of years ahead of him at the Camp Nou.

Marc Ter Stegen

PAULINHO IS ONE FOR ONE

With his first shot on target in a Barcelona shirt, Paulinho not only scored but managed to be the match winner for his new side.

After much criticism over his acquisition in the summer, the Brazilian went some way towards justifying his price tag.

Paulinho

DENIS SUAREZ HURTS GETAFE.. IN DIFFERENT COLOURS

Denis Suarez has now scored against Getafe for two different teams.

Having already breached their defence during his year-long stint at Villareal last season, he followed it up with the crucial equaliser on Saturday to drag Barcelona back into the the tie.

Denis Suarez

GAKU MAKES HISTORY

Gaku stunned everyone with his sensational effort to give Getafe the lead. His volley from outside the area left Ter Stegen beaten all ends up.

Furthermore, he became only the second Japanese player to score against Barcelona.

Gaku Shibasaki

MESSI DRIBBLES AS MUCH AS ENTIRE GETAFE TEAM

Lionel Messi is widely regarded as the best dribbler in the game, perhaps of all-time. It’s no surprise then that he completed the most dribbles in this game.

However, he did manage an exceptionally high six dribbles, which is as much as the entire Getafe side managed collectively.

Lionel Messi

SUAREZ OUT OF SORTS

Luis Suarez is struggling for form at the moment and looked out of his element on the left side of a front three.

The Uruguayan in fact, failed to registered a single shot, key pass or dribble over the 90 minutes.

Luis Suarez

PAULINHO AHEAD OF RONALDO

Okay, it’s a bit of a cheeky one but with Cristiano Ronaldo serving a five-match suspension in Spanish football, Paulinho is ahead of him on goals, naturally.

It bears no meaning, but it’s still not something you’d have predicted possible at this stage of the season.

Cristiano Ronaldo

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