Having seen league leaders Barcelona slip to a 2-1 defeat to Las Palmas on Saturday, there was extra pressure on a Real Madrid team, decimated by injury, to win and move within touching distance of their eternal rivals - something which appeared unthinkable just a few weeks ago.
They were met with a Getafe side arriving on the back of consecutive wins for the first time since December 2023, and the visitors dug in and limited Carlo Ancelotti’s men to very few chances in the opening 25 minutes.
The game was turned on its head just shy of the 30-minute mark however, when Antonio Rudiger was dragged down in the penalty area by Allan Nyom following a corner.
Perhaps due to his penalty miss in midweek, Kylian Mbappe was replaced on spot-kick duties by Jude Bellingham, who struck his effort into the net with all the calmness in the world.
The Englishman’s composure appeared to fire up Mbappe, who doubled Madrid’s lead just minutes later with a wicked 20-yard finish after a fine through ball from Bellingham.
There was palpable relief in the away section just minutes after the interval, as the referee overturned his original penalty decision against Juan Berrocal after VAR review. After that scare, Getafe went close to a goal themselves on a rare foray forward with Christantus Uche smashing his shot onto the post with the game approaching the hour mark.
Jose Bordalas had lost all five of his previous managerial meetings against Ancelotti, and he looked bemused as his side struggled to build on their earlier chance. Instead, Real looked the likelier side to score again as Federico Valverde forced a good save out of Soria before Mbappe somehow failed to double his personal tally with the goal at his mercy.
John Patrick hit the woodwork late on for the Azulones, but they slipped to a third defeat in four matches to stay just a place above the relegation zone. Real, meanwhile, close to within a point of the summit while retaining a game in hand - only Barcelona have beaten them at the Bernabéu in the league since April 2023.