Barcelona again held to draw at Getafe, Griezmann misses penalty as Atletico's win streak ends

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona was bested by Getafe’s defense again in a 1-1 draw in La Liga on Saturday, while Atletico Madrid’s club record winning streak ended after a late penalty miss by Antoine Griezmann.

Barcelona got its first goal in five visits to Getafe thanks to Jules Koundé in the 10th minute, but Getafe equalized and clamped down to get a fourth consecutive draw at its stadium against the powerhouse.

The last time Barcelona won at Coliseum Stadium was in 2019, making the fixture an annual quagmire for the Catalan club.

Real Madrid will aim to take advantage of the slips by its title rivals when it hosts Las Palmas on Sunday.

Atletico’s 15-win streak ended in a 1-0 loss to Leganes, its first loss since Oct. 27. Atletico remained one point ahead of Madrid.

Barcelona was five points behind the front-runner. This round marks the beginning of the second half of the league.

Barcelona was coming off huge wins: A 5-2 thrashing of Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final and a 5-1 win over Real Betis in the Copa del Rey. Barcelona visits Benfica in the Champions League on Tuesday.

But José Bordalás’s Getafe, with its physical, defensive style, once again frustrated Barcelona in Hansi Flick’s first visit as its coach.

“This was another exercise in survival,” Bordalás said. “Taking a point today is like getting a win.”

Koundé put Barcelona ahead when Pedri threaded a pass to meet the right back’s move into the area. Goalkeeper David Soría blocked his first effort but Koundé scrambled the rebound out of Soría’s grasp and over the line.

Moments after Raphinha headed a cross by Koundé into the side netting, Getafe leveled in the 34th during a defensive letdown by the visitors. Mauro Arambarri put in a loose ball after Iñaki Peña did well to make a one-handed save of a volley by Coba de Costa.

“We controlled the game but they scored on the one chance they had, it is too bad,” Koundé said. “We didn’t have our finishing touch.”

Griezmann had a chance to at least snatch a point for the league leader after a video review awarded Atletico a 90th-minute penalty for a handball by defender Sergio González. But the French forward stroked his spot kick wide.

Griezmann and Julián Alvarez hit the woodwork in the first half, but the leaders couldn’t respond after Leganes defender Matija Nastasic scored with a 49th-minute header.

Last week, Atletico broke its own record of 13 consecutive victories from 2012-13.

Leganes returned to the first division this season and has become a giant-slayer in the top-flight. The modest club from Madrid stunned Barcelona when it was leader in December. Its win over Atletico lifted it into 15th place.

“We don’t have anything special, this is just the result of the hard work we put in each week,” Leganes goalkeeper Marko Dmitoriv said. “We have beaten two of the three big teams in the league, so we have no excuse not to perform like this each time out.”

Atletico, which was the biggest spender for Spanish clubs in the summer, is trying to win its third league under Simeone after titles in 2014 and 2021. Simeone said that during those championship runs, his side lost to smaller clubs Almeria (in 2014) and Levante (in 2021), and that didn’t stop them from still beating Barcelona and Madrid to the title.

“We had 15 wonderful games, a record in the history of this club. It was a great run that benefitted us in the league, Copa del Rey and Champions League,” Simeone said.

Atletico defenders Javi Galán and Clement Lenglet received their fifth yellow cards of the season and will miss the next round against Villarreal. But first, Atletico hosts Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Alaves striker Kike García scored a hat trick to lead a 3-1 win at 10-man Real Betis.

The 35-year-old García, known more as a workhorse than a big scorer, earned a penalty after being fouled by Marc Bartra and opened the scoring in the 11th.

After Betis lost Romain Perraud to a red card for a dangerous foul in the 55th, García spun before firing home in the 80th and thumped in a header for his treble.

Dodi Lukébakio starred again for Sevilla after scoring a solo effort in the 89th minute to complete a 2-1 comeback at Girona.

The Belgium forward tallied his team-leading ninth goal of the season after he nutmegged Ladislav Krejci before slotting the late winner past goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga. Gazzaniga saved a first-half penalty by Isaac Romero.

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Barcelona's Raphinha controls a ball during a Spanish La Liga soccer match against Getafe at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez stadium in Getafe, Spain, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, front, controls a ball chased by Getafe's Luis Milla during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez stadium in Getafe, Spain, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Barcelona's Jules Kounde celebrates after scoring the opening goal against Getafe during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez stadium in Getafe, Spain, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Barcelona's head coach Hansi Flick waits for the beginning of a Spanish La Liga soccer match against Getafe at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez stadium in Getafe, Spain, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Barcelona's Jules Kounde, right, celebrates with Lamine Yamal after he scoring the opening goal against Getafe during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez stadium in Getafe, Spain, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, center, reacts after Getafe's goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez stadium in Getafe, Spain, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski reacts after missing a chance to score against Getafe during a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez stadium in Getafe, Spain, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Iran's top judge hinted at fast trials and executions for those who were detained in nationwide protests against the country's theocracy, even as activists said Wednesday that the death toll rose to levels unseen in decades with at least 2,572 people killed so far.

Iran’s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei made the comments about trials and executions in a video Tuesday, despite a warning from U.S. President Donald Trump that he would “take very strong action” if executions take place.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said the number of dead climbed to at least 2,571 early Wednesday. The figure dwarfs the death toll from any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

After Trump was informed on the number of deaths, he warned Iran's leaders that he was terminating any negotiations and would “act accordingly.”

Details of the crackdown began emerging Tuesday as Iranians made phone calls abroad for the first time in days after authorities severed communications countrywide when the protests broke out.

Here is the latest:

Major Middle East governments were discouraging the Trump administration from waging a war with Iran, fearing “unprecedented consequences” in the volatile region, an Arab Gulf diplomat said Wednesday.

The Cairo-based diplomat, who was given anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media, said major governments in the region including Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabai and Pakistan have been “in constant contact” with the U.S. administration over a potential American strike on Iran that could explode into a “full-blown war.”

Such a war will “certainly” have dire repercussions “not only on the Middle East but also on the global economy," he said.

Samy Magdy contributed from Cairo.

Iranian state television said Wednesday’s mass funeral in Tehran would include 300 bodies of security force members and civilians. The funeral is expected to take place at Tehran University under heavy security.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency, which is tracking the death toll, said more than 2,550 people have been killed, 2,403 protesters and 147 government-affiliated.

Twelve children were killed, along with nine civilians it said were not taking part in protests. More than 18,100 people have been detained, the group said.

Gauging the demonstrations and the death toll from abroad has grown more difficult and The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll given the communications being disrupted in the country.

Melanie Lidman contributed from Jerusalem.

Trump’s decision to impose a 25% tariff on countries that trade with Iran could impact India, an expert said, as New Delhi already faces existing 50% U.S. trade levies due its purchases of Russian oil.

Abhijit Mukhopadhyay, a senior economist at the Chintan Research Foundation in New Delhi, said the bigger risk is not India-Iran trade, but India’s access to the U.S. market as its exports to Iran are modest.

India mainly exports rice, tea, sugar, pharmaceuticals and electrical machinery to Iran, while importing dry fruits and chemical products. Textiles and garments, gems and jewelry and engineering goods are likely to be the most vulnerable sectors, he said.

Trump’s latest move also could affect India’s investments in Iran including the strategically important Chabahar port, which gives India a trade route to Afghanistan, Central Asia and Europe while bypassing Pakistan, Mukhopadhyay said.

Iran’s judiciary chief signals fast trials and executions for those detained in nationwide protests.

Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei made the comment in a video shared by Iranian state television on Wednesday.

He emphasized the need for swift action, saying delays would lessen the impact.

His remarks challenge Trump, who warned Iran about executions in an interview aired Tuesday.

Trump stated the U.S. would take strong action if Iran proceeded with executions. The situation highlights escalating tensions between the two countries over the handling of the protests.

Dozens of Pakistani students studying in Iran have returned home through a remote southwestern border crossing, a Pakistani immigration official said Wednesday.

Federal Investigation Agency spokesperson in Quetta city, Samina Raisani, said about 60 students crossed into Pakistan on Tuesday through Gabd border in Balochistan province with valid travel documents.

More students were expected to return through the same crossing later Wednesday, she said.

Mudassir Tipu, Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran, said Tuesday that Iranian universities had rescheduled exams and permitted international students to leave the country.

The satellite internet provider Starlink now offers free service in to people Iran who have access to the company's receivers, activists said Wednesday.

Mehdi Yahyanejad, a Los Angeles-based activist who helped get the units into Iran, told The Associated Press that the free service had started. Other activists also confirmed in messages online that the service was free.

Starlink has been the only way for Iranians to communicate with the outside world since authorities shut down the internet Thursday night as nationwide protests swelled and they began a bloody crackdown against demonstrators.

Starlink did not immediately acknowledge the decision.

This frame grab from videos taken between Jan. 9 and Jan. 11, 2026, and circulating on social media purportedly shows images from a morgue with dozens of bodies and mourners after crackdown on the outskirts of Iran's capital, in Kahrizak, Tehran Province. (UGC via AP)