The visitors took the lead early in the first half through leading goalscorer Luis Fabiano but a sumptuous strike from Francisco Casquero levelled the contest before the break.Getafe then went ahead midway through the second half but looked to have lost all three points when Sevilla equalized one minute from time. But in the last kick of the match, Los Azulones snatched the dramatic win through Romanian defender Cosmin Contra. The match started of in a rather subdued note as both sides took their time to settle in.
Sevilla enjoyed the better of possession in the early stages as their rapid-fire passing and no-nonsense tackling left the home sides chasing thin air. Despite seeing plenty of the ball in the Getafe half, the first real chance didn’t arrive for Sevilla until the 15th minute. But when it came it produced a goal.
Daniel Alves struck a venomous free-kick from 25 yards out and Roberto Abbondanzieri reacted well to palm it out, but his weak clearance only got as far as Luis Fabiano six yards out and the Brazilian nodded in the rebound for his 13th La Liga goal of the season.
Manolo Jiménez’s men immediately took their foot off the pedal after that goal and Getafe promptly worked their way back into the game. Esteban Granero had the first real shot at goal for Los Azulones after 20 minutes but he couldn’t quite direct his effort on target.
Five minutes later, Sevilla almost doubled their advantage when a long cross from Christian Poulsen found Jesús Navas on the right flank who smashed a shot across goal but Abbondanzieri was equal to the task, although he spilled the save and needed a second attempt to hang on to it safely. The Argentine shot stopper was tested again just seconds later when Aleksandr Kerzhakov fired a low shot in the area but Pato managed to scramble the shot to safety.
Getafe really should have restored parity on the half hour mark. Granero’s corner found Ruben de la Red at the far post and the ex-Real Madrid midfielder hammered a shot past de Sanctis only for Alves to head it clear off the line. But Michael Laudrup’s boys finally found their equalizer in the 32nd minute when Manuel del Moral and Juan Albín combined to tee up Francisco Casquero, who unleashed a sweet half volley into the top right hand corner of the net.
The home sides, with the help of the boisterous crowd, came alive after that and de Sanctis had to make a superb save to deny Granero, who ran onto a cheeky flick by Pablo Hernández but couldn’t get enough power and direction on the header. It was the Andaluz side who ended the half the stronger as Alves and Adriano both had chances to score but poor finishing let them down.
Getafe, however, started the second period the livelier and just two minutes into the restart, an adventurous Granero tried his luck from distance and de Sanctis had to be alert to punch the searing shot away. The first substitution was made by Jiménez in the 54th minute and it almost proved to be a masterstroke.
Diego Capel replaced Adriano and the youngster almost scored just two minutes after coming on. Navas drilled in a low cross from the right but Capel, who was waiting at the far post, ballooned his attempt as he slid in to connect with the ball.
A minute later, they were punished for that costly miss as Getafe went ahead. Albín sneaked in infront of the sleeping Dragutinovic to prod home Pablo’s cross with a flying header. Geta should have buried the game in the 78th minute through a counterattack but del Moral took too long on the ball infront of goal and as the Sevilla defenders doubled back, he was forced to make a hurried shot and his tame effort was saved by de Sanctis.
It was the Andalucians turn to punish the hosts for that miss as they drew levelled with one minute of regulation time left. Ernesto Chevantón’s perfect delivery from a corner found Dragutinovic and the defender made up for his earlier error by thumping in a header into the top corner at the near post.
But there was to be more drama. Two minutes into stoppage time, Getafe snatched the victory when substitute Cosmin Contra rose high in the box to meet Jaime Gavilán’s freekick and his glancing header sailed past a static and shocked de Sanctis into the back of the net. The Romanian was booked for removing his shirt during the wild celebrations that ensued but he won’t care much as Getafe pulled off a stunning victory.
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