MADRID - Ten-man Real Mallorca hit back from 3-1 down to salvage a point against Getafe on Sunday and bring their hosts back to earth following their memorable recent run of results.
In the last 11 days, Getafe have reached the last 16 of the UEFA Cup, become the first team in a year to beat Real Madrid in a league game at the Bernabeu, and also claimed a 3-1 first leg advantage in their Copa del Rey semi-final against Racing Santander.
However, they were unable to cap that with a victory over Mallorca which would have put more daylight between them and the relegation zone.
It took just 90 seconds for Getafe to take the lead, when a well worked move was finished off by captain Mario Cortelo rifling home a shot from the edge of the Mallorca area.
The home side then made it 2-0 in the ninth minute through Juan Albin's glancing header.
Esteban Granero drilled in a free-kick from 40 yards out and Albin, standing on the edge of the Mallorca, got a slight touch on the ball to divert it in off the near post.
Despite the excellent start, Getafe will have known from bitter experience not to take anything for granted - they also led 2-0 at Mallorca earlier this season only to end up on the wrong end of a 4-2 scoreline.
And coach Michael Laudrup must have feared a case of deja vu as Mallorca pulled a goal back just two minutes after Albin's effort.
Two quick crosses into the Getafe box left the home defence in disarray, and although Roberto Abbondanzieri did superbly to keep out Dani Guiza's initial header, the former Getafe striker was quick to slot home the rebound.
Mallorca then thought they had equalised in the 20th minute when Guillermo Pereyra glanced Ariel Ibagaza's free-kick into the top corner, but the visiting side's celebrations were cut short by an offside flag. Gregorio Manzano's side suffered another a blow in the 35th minute when Lionel Scaloni was given his marching orders for two bookings.
The full-back was shown his second yellow for dragging down Granero on the edge of the box, but the Balearic Island side were able to hold out until half-time without any more setbacks.
Mallorca were not so lucky in the 58th minute though when they were temporarily reduced to nine men following an injury to centre-back Jose Carlos Nunes, and Getafe took full advantage to net their third.
Ruben De la Red drove hard at the heart of the Mallorca backline before feeding Pablo Hernandez on the right, and the substitute's dangerous low cross was inadvertently turned into his own net by visiting defender Ivan Ramis.
Mallorca looked a beaten side, but they were given a lifeline with 18 minutes to go when Juan Arango smashed home a brilliant 35-yard free-kick which flew into the top corner.
Just 60 seconds later,Arango curled in another free-kick and the unmarked Ramis was on hand to send a diving header past Abbondanzieri, making amends for his earlier own goal and earning Mallorca an unlikely point from an exciting encounter.
