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Molina broke the deadlock after eight minutes, pouncing on Kiko Femenia's loose touch before unleashing a swerving effort from over 25 yards that flew into the top-right corner, leaving the visitors' goalkeeper David Soria rooted to the ground as he watched it sail past him.

Diego Simeone's side dominated proceedings and nearly doubled its lead soon after, with Alexander Sorloth's close-range header from Alex Baena's cross crashing against the woodwork.

Getafe saw chances fall few and far between across the first half and was dealt another setback 10 minutes after the break when Abdel Abqar saw his yellow card upgraded to red after a video assistant referee (VAR) review for violent conduct against Sorloth.

Atletico continued to press with the numerical advantage as Baena struck the side netting before Marc Pubill saw a low shot parried by Soria.

Julian Alvarez thought he had sealed the result late on after combining with Ademola Lookman to fire towards goal from close range, but the ball was cleared off the line at the last moment.

Atletico was not made to pay, though, as it won a fourth straight league match to move back into third position on 57 points, two ahead of Villarreal in fourth, while Getafe is ninth with 35 points.

While Simeone was delighted with the win, he felt there was scope for improvement in the final third.

"It's always a tough match against them. They have a style of play that they work on very well, they compete very well every year," he said.

"Winning the match 1-0, as we did, it seemed like we had it under control, but they also thrive in that situation where it seems like you have the game under control.

"We had chances to be more clinical, to score one or two goals in the first half, but we didn't. They improved in the second half.

"I think Getafe had a good second half. Even so, we also had two or three very clear chances that we couldn't convert this time."

In the first half, Atletico had eight attempts, including that chance off the frame of the goal, while Getafe failed to test Juan Musso, who became the first goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in each of his first four LaLiga matches in the 21st Century – six saves from six shots on target.

"Yes, I really liked the first half," Simeone added.

"Honestly, if I had to pick one thing, it would be the performance of the lads who played the first half; they were excellent.

"They dominated the game, controlled their attacks, especially on those second balls, which are so difficult for them to win."