Diego Simeone’s men have specialised in striking late in games this term, so perhaps a slow start from the hosts here wasn’t a surprise.
Still, more was expected of Atleti than their measly one shot on target before the break as the Getafe rearguard held firm. Samuel Lino squandered his side’s best two opportunities, firing wide with a pair of volleys having been found by Antoine Griezmann and Rodrigo De Paul respectively.
Despite their lack of threat for most of the half, Atletico still should have been ahead by the break, but Giuliano Simeone glanced a presentable headed chance wide of the target.
The Azulones, for their part, never troubled Jan Oblak either, with a first half that won’t last long in the memory leaving both sides in need of an injection of quality to swing the contest in their favour.
Atleti found that in Alexander Sorloth, whose introduction at the break allowed their attack to flow much more freely. Fluidity aside, though, clear-cut chances remained at a premium and their lack of cutting edge was nearly punished when a Getafe corner was deflected inches wide of his own post by Jose Maria Gimenez.
Unfazed by that scare, a pair of Simeone’s introductions combined to hand them the lead in the 69th minute.
Angel Correa’s searching cross from the right found Sorloth at the back post, and the Norwegian expertly headed back across goal and into the bottom corner to end a three-match scoring drought and give the hosts the lead.
Responding to such a setback always looked difficult for a side who had failed to sustain attacks throughout the contest, and so it proved as they fell to another defeat - their 11th from their last 18 away league matches.
Consequently, the Azulones remain just two points above the relegation zone, while Atleti head into next week’s showdown with Barcelona level on points with the early season pacesetters.