Getafe vs. Atletico Madrid: Winners and Losers from La Liga Game
La Liga champions Atletico Madrid moved closer toward the top four following a 1-0 win at Getafe on Sunday, a match which was lacking in quality and entertainment, but heavy on referee influence and bad-natured challenges.
Mario Mandzukic scored the only goal of the game shortly before half-time, while Getafe ended the fixture with 10 men and were probably lucky to finish up with that many. It leaves Atletico in fifth, level on points with fourth-place Valencia, and Getafe in 12th after nine matches.
Here are all our winners and losers from the game.
Winner: Koke
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With Tiago out and Gabi missing, Koke was moved into a central midfield role for Atletico Madrid. It is a position he rarely occupies for his club yet has won a spot for with his nation.
The Spanish midfielder was excellent in the first hour, controlling play and trying to push his side forward whenever possible to create space and openings in the Getafe half of the pitch.
Several of Atletico's best moves in that spell went through him.
Later in the game, he had to work hard alongside Mario Suarez to ensure Getafe didn't enjoy success on the counter.
Losers: Alexis and Rodriguez
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Getafe were ridiculously aggressive after the break as they sought to get back into the match by fair means or foul, with Alexis and Juan Rodriguez easily the worst offenders.
Alexis managed to get himself dismissed after 56 minutes when he lost possession down the right flank and then proceeded to strike Mario Mandzukic in the face as he ran back after the ball.
It was blatant, purposeful and fully deserving of the straight red.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez kicked and stamped his way through the second half, somehow escaping without so much as a yellow card despite two clear incidents of treading on Mandzukic—the second after he lay prone on the ground following Alexis' red card.
Winner: Miguel Angel Moya
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Atletico might have kept a clean sheet and won the game, but they were not entirely comfortable throughout after struggling to find their usual fluidity and dominance.
Several times, counter-attacks or set pieces led to Getafe chances, and it was Miguel Angel Moya—not Getafe goalkeeper Vicente Guaita—who was forced into more notable saves and blocks.
A triple save from a free-kick, rebound header and follow-up shot was the pick of the bunch, but Moya was also alert at his near post to deny Angel Lafita late in the game. He certainly earned his clean sheet this week against his former side.
Loser: Sammir
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Getafe have a handful of creative attacking midfielders in their squad: Lafita, Pablo Sarabia and Sammir as the highest-profile three.
The Brazilian-born Croatian international Sammir started as their No. 10 against Atletico, but he utterly failed to create anything of note, link play between midfield and attack or get himself into the penalty area.
He was rendered anonymous by Atleti's superior work-rate and technique in the middle, eventually leading to him being substituted after just over an hour of play.
His replacement, Baba, was much more of a handful for Atletico to deal with.
Winner: Karim Yoda
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We'll finish up with a winner for Getafe: Karim Yoda, their scoring hero late on in last week's win over Real Sociedad.
The French right-winger, signed this summer from Romanian side Astra Giurgiu, has made a good impact on the side in the past few weeks and caused plenty of problems for Atletico late on.
His pace, athleticism and willingness to run at defenders, cutting in on his left foot, almost made a scoring chance for Sarabia and gave left-back Guilherme Siqueira plenty to worry about as the game ticked toward its conclusion.
