Atletico snatch late win at Getafe with own-goal

Atletico Madrid managed a narrow 1-0 victory over Getafe on Sunday, maintaining their challenge against the leading sides in La Liga.

The team under Diego Simeone, sitting in fourth position, remains three points adrift of frontrunners Barcelona and Real Madrid following this hard-fought derby success, sealed by an own-goal from Domingos Duarte in the closing stages.

Real Madrid, managed by Xabi Alonso, will take on Elche later and have the chance to regain outright leadership at the summit.

Atletico sit just one point off third-placed Villarreal following this closely contested match under chilly conditions at the Coliseum stadium of Getafe.

The visitors saw Marcos Llorente sidelined by an early knock, which stood out as the main event in an otherwise lacklustre opening period.

Getafe, occupying seventh spot, are notoriously difficult to overcome on their own turf and they managed to keep their local rivals at bay for much of the game.

Captain Koke, the clubs all time leading appearance holder, marked his 700th outing for Atletico, though it failed to stand out among his collection.

Juan Musso took the keepers role for Atletico with regular starter Jan Oblak sidelined through injury, and the Argentine faced minimal action.

Getafes David Soria faced more pressure, pulling off a solid stop against Nico Gonzalez in the initial exchanges.

Nico Gonzalez then intercepted a shot from Mauro Arambarri around the hour mark, as the hosts mounted a short-lived push.

To chase a breakthrough, Simeone substituted forward Julian Alvarez, who had been subdued, with the more physical Alexander Sorloth.

Soria denied Giacomo Raspadori as Atletico ramped up the intensity, and the Italian played a key part in the decisive moment.

In the 82nd minute, Raspadori redirected a delivery across the face of goal, leading to Duarte awkwardly deflecting the ball into his own net while challenged by Antoine Griezmann.

This goal ultimately decided the outcome, despite Arambarri striking the bar late on during added time, as Getafe almost levelled.

"(Simeone) instructed me prior to my entry to make the most of my opportunity," Raspadori shared with DAZN.

"The own-goal gave me some fortune, yet I feel delighted," he added.

"Securing points in such challenging fixtures matters greatly. I was warned about the difficulty here, and it proved true, though we performed strongly to close it out."