Still harbouring an outside chance of mounting a title charge, Atletico started on the front foot and peppered the Getafe net during a goalless first half.
Jose Maria Gimenez came close with a header inside six minutes, but his effort was saved, while Alex Baena skewed a half-chance high and wide over the crossbar moments later.
Getafe still had chances of their own though, the best of which fell to Borja Mayoral, whose own header was right at Juan Musso in the Atletico goal.
And they carried the momentum conjured by that chance into the early second-half minutes, resulting in an aerial effort being sent wide by Mauro Arambarri, much to the irritation of the home crowd.
Atlético did grow into the half as it progressed though, and just when it looked like the Rojiblancos were running out of time, they fortuitously broke the deadlock.
There were 82 minutes on the clock when Giacomo Raspadori’s cutback was turned into his own net by Getafe defender Domingos Duarte, who was unable to sort his feet out in time to make a clearance, sending the home faithful slumping in their seats while the away section erupted.
As is often the case with Simeone teams, it wasn’t the prettiest of wins, but a fifth league success in a row also means that it’s now just one loss in 11 overall for Atletico.
By contrast, Getafe’s hopes of qualifying for European competition next season have taken a real blow after a second successive loss to nil.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Giacomo Raspadori (Atletico Madrid)
