humbling by beating Getafe 1-0 to move within two points of
the La Liga pacesetters.
The reigning champions made the short trip across Madrid on
Sunday and rarely looked troubled by their neighbours, claiming
a victory to capitalise on Barca's 3-1 loss at Real Madrid 24
hours earlier.
Mario Mandzukic netted from close range five minutes before
the break to send Atletico on their way, but things should have
been far more comfortable as they spurned numerous
opportunities in the first half.
And after starting the second half encouragingly, Getafe handed
Atletico a numerical advantage when captain Alexis earned a red
card for striking Mandzukic in the face.
Despite finding themselves with an extra man, Diego Simeone's
side seemed reluctant to throw players forward in search of a
second goal that would have killed the game.
To their credit, Getafe attacked valiantly in search of an equaliser
even though they were a man down, but Atletico's typically
resilient defence held firm to seal all three points for the visitors.
Getafe coach Cosmin Contra acknowledged pre-game that the
champions would have to have a bad day if he was to outsmart
his former Atletico team-mate Simeone in the opposing dugout.
And it looked clear from the early exchanges that it would be a
long evening for Getafe, as Atletico dictated the tempo right
from the start and saw a penalty claim rejected in the 12th
minute.
Guilherme Siqueira charged forward from left-back to great
effect but, although he appeared to be tripped by Emiliano
Velazquez, referee Mario Melero refused to point to the spot.
Atletico's dominance continued and, after seeing efforts from
Raul Garcia, Siqueira and Koke denied, they finally found the
breakthrough after 40 minutes.
Vicente Guaita failed to hold on to Antoine Griezmann's half-
volley, and Mandzukic stabbed home from close range after
Arda Turan inadvertently knocked the initial rebound to the
Croatian.
Getafe began the second half with renewed optimism, though,
and only the heroics of their former goalkeeper Miguel Angel
Moya in the Atletico net stopped them from restoring parity.
The 30-year-old first swatted away Naldo's flicked effort, before
palming away goal-bound attempts from Alexis and Angel Lafita
in quick succession.
However, the hosts' hopes of drawing level suffered a significant
blow in the 56th minute as their skipper Alexis received a
straight red for striking Mandzukic on the side of his face, with
tempers flaring on both teams.
Despite going down to 10 men, Getafe continued to press for an
equaliser and substitute Baba Diawara went close just a few
moments after coming on, sending a half-volley just wide from
25 yards.
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