Atletico Madrid narrowly won 1-0 at home to their nearest rivals Getafe in a match decided by Nahuel Molina’s first-half header. Los Azulónes were outnumbered in the second half after Abdel Abqar was sent off for a tackle, but Diego Simeone’s men failed to extend their lead. However, the hosts moved back up to third in LaLiga, while the visitors are slipping away from European prospects.

Atletico Madrid and Getafe met at the “Estadio Metropolitano” in the 28th round of the current domestic season in Spain, in a duel that proposed distinct targets for the two teams. The “rojiblancos” group was trying to recover its last place on the podium, having one point less than Villareal before this game, while the team from the outskirts of the Capital was on the ninth step, with a total of 35 points collected, five lengths behind Celta Vigo, the occupant of the last position that allows participation in European cups next season.

In the most recent match in which they had been involved, the “los colchoneros” group had won with the unbelievable score of 5-2, at home, in the company of Tottenham Hotspur, in the UEFA Champions League, and, in LaLiga, Atletico Madrid had triumphed, in their own “home” against Real Sociedad, with a goal difference. On the other hand, the students trained by Jose Luis Bordalas traveled to the Spanish capital after a success recorded in the previous round, at home, final score 2-0 against Real Betis, and, before that game, Getafe had registered a victory at the “Bernabeu”.

In the most recent five encounters in which these two teams had been involved, both had registered four successes and one failure, Atletico Madrid having registered five wins in a row at home, while Getafe had lost, most recently, away from home, in December 2025, in Seville, in the company of Real Betis. In fact, the hosts had been defeated only once this season in the Spanish championship, and, in the most recent 13 clashes that had taken place at the “Estadio Metropolitano”, the “rojiblancos” team had obtained 12 triumphs.

Diego Simeone could not rely on Rodrigo Mendoza, Pablo Barrios and Jan Oblak for this game, unlike his counterpart who did not have Juanmi, Davinchi, Abu Kamara and Borja Mayoral at his disposal. In the last five direct matches between the two clubs, Atletico Madrid had overcome Getafe on four occasions, and the “los colchoneros” had recorded only one failure in the most recent 29 such matches. In fact, the most recent success of the team at the “Estadio Coliseum Alfonso Perez”, away, against the group from the Spanish capital, had been recorded in May 2010.

In the round duel of the current season in the domestic competition, the students led from the sidelines by Diego Simeone had obtained all three points, at the end of a duel that had been decided by an own goal signed by Domingos Duarte towards the end of the clash. The first chance to score came in the third minute of the game, when, at the end of a corner, Koke laid the ball to Nahuel Molina, but, from the edge of the box, the shot of the 2022 world champion with Argentina went well over the opposing goal.

A “story-telling” goal was scored in the eighth minute of the match at the “Estadio Metropolitano”, when the same Nahuel Molina, on the left side of the pitch, took over the ball rejected by the visitors’ defense and “catapulted” a “torpedo” into the Getafe goal net, with David Soria simply watching. Another spectacular long-range shot by Nahuel Molina caused great problems for David Soria, who had to make a last-gasp save to the side, and then Nicolas Gonzalez missed the ball from close range for “los azulones”.

A counterattack initiated by Alexander Sorloth brought out Alex Baena, who received a pass on the left flank, advanced with the ball at his feet and served, at the far post, the Norwegian striker, whose header hit the left post of the Getafe goal net. A foray into the opponents’ penalty area by Marc Pubill ended with a shot sent to the short corner by the Iberian stopper, the ball stopping in the side netting of the team’s goals in the Community of Madrid. A huge chance to double the advantage on the scoreboard belonged to Thiago Almada, who, from Alex Baena’s precise pass, shot weakly, wide of the goal.

The second half of this game began with a well-constructed attack by Getafe, and Martin Satriano was one step away from restoring parity on the scoreboard, but his “step” was blocked by Juan Musso, and, later, Koke removed the danger from near his team’s goal. Abdel Abqar was shown a red card in the 55th minute of the game after a thorough VAR review following a challenge by the away centre-back on Alexander Sorloth, leaving Getafe with one man down for the remainder of the game.

A crucial opportunity came moments later when Martin Satriano headed in a cross from Birmancevic on the right, but the South American’s shot went wide. Alex Baena wasted a chance that would have made it 2-0 for Atletico Madrid when he got lucky and fired into the bottom corner, but he couldn’t get the ball in. Marc Pubill then slipped through the defence, slotted in and fired home from close range, but David Soria blocked the shot.

A huge opportunity appeared for the visitors about 20 minutes before the referee’s final whistle, when Mauro Arambarri received a pass in the opponent’s box, but finished with a shot that fell into the opponent’s net. Antoine Griezmann, who entered along the way, received a ball in the opponent’s box, but the execution of the Hexagon star ended up in the “rojiblancos” formation. A huge chance to equalize belonged to Getafe in the 80th minute, but, from close range, Luis Vazquez could not beat Juan Musso, and, on the counterattack, Atletico Madrid missed three times, through Antoine Griezmann, Ademola Lookman and Julian Alvarez.

Thanks to this success, Atletico Madrid returned to the last step of the podium, being two points ahead of Villareal, while Getafe remains in ninth place. In the upcoming round, the “rojiblancos” will play in the city derby in the company of Real Madrid, at the “Bernabeu”, and the team prepared by Jose Bordalas will “face off” with Espanyol, in Catalonia.