Atletico Madrid drop points in their quest for the LaLiga Santander title, as they were drawn 0-0 with ten men Getafe at the Colosseum Alfonso Perez.
David Soria played an important role in making a point for Getafe, by saving a few times over the course of the evening. His first denied him Yannick Carrasco with his legs in the first half.
Jan Oblak had a few moments myself at the Coliseum. Nemanja Maksimovic gave the hosts almost a lead in the first half after the Atletico goalkeeper parried Carles Alena‘s lap.
After continuing Joao Felix rest time, Diego Simeone waited until the middle of the second period to make his second, third and fourth substitutes.
One of them Renan Lodi, was at the end of a strong challenge of Allan Nyom, which saw red after the subsequent VAR review.
With a man advantage, Atletico insisted on a winning goal. Substitute Moussa Dembele almost provided it, but his volley was expertly kept by Soria.
It was Luis Suarez who came closest to beating the Getafe goalkeeper, who could not get close to the Uruguayan lob that came back from the posts. Marcos Llorente drove over after the ball then fell loose in the penalty area.
With just a few seconds left of normal time, Lodi found Dembele with an exact cross, only for the signing of January to somehow miss the target with his header.
In the end, the winner eluded Los Rojiblancos because they could not restore their eight-point lead. Real Madrid at the top of LaLiga Santander.
Zinedine Zidane‘s side are now within six points of the leaders after their win over Elche. Barcelona hosts Huesca Monday night knowing that they can narrow the gap to the top end to four points with a win.
As for Getafe, they subtract five points from the relegation zone. They owe much to Soria and his defense for much of it.