Akin Ayomide
Atletico Madrid scraped a 1-0 win at Getafe on Sunday to keep the pressure on the teams above them in La Liga.
Diego Simeone’s side, fourth, trail leaders Barcelona and Real Madrid by three points after their narrow derby victory, handed to them by a late Domingos Duarte own-goal.
Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid face Elche later on and can reclaim a solo lead at the top of the table.
Atletico are a point behind third-place Villarreal after a tight game on a chilly night at Getafe’s Coliseum.
The Rojiblancos lost Marcos Llorente to an early injury and it was the most notable moment of a dour first half.
Getafe, seventh, often prove a tough nut to crack at home and they frustrated their neighbours.
Atletico captain and all-time highest appearance maker Koke played his 700th game for the club, but it was not one of the more memorable.
Juan Musso started in goal for Atletico because usual number one Jan Oblak was out injured, and the Argentinian had virtually nothing to do.
His counterpart David Soria was a little busier, saving well from Nico Gonzalez early on.
Gonzalez blocked Mauro Arambarri’s effort after an hour as Getafe briefly threatened.
Simeone brought off striker Julian Alvarez, who had a quiet night, for target man Alexander Sorloth in search of a potential winner.
Soria saved from Giacomo Raspadori as Atletico turned the screw and the Italian forward was involved in the game’s only goal.
Raspadori turned a cross back across goal and Duarte bundled clumsily into his own net under pressure from Antoine Griezmann in the 82nd minute.
It proved enough to split the teams, although Arambarri crashed a shot against the crossbar in stoppage time as Getafe nearly snatched an equaliser.
“(Simeone) told me before I went on to take advantage of my chance,” Raspadori told DAZN.
“I had a bit of luck with the own-goal, but I am very happy,” he continued.
“When these games are tough, winning is important. People told me it would be tough here, and so it was, but we did well in the end.”