A rocket finish from Nahuel Molina was enough for Atlético Madrid to see off 10-man Getafe 1-0 on Saturday.

The game was just eight minutes old when Molina sniped possession on the left wing with one touch before unleashing an unstoppable dipping effort from 30 yards.

That proved the only goal at Wanda Metropolitano, with Getafe's hopes of clawing their way back taking a hit when Abdel Abqar was sent off 10 minutes into the second half.

The result makes it four consecutive LaLiga wins for Atleti, who moved two points ahead of Villarreal to go third, and three in a row across all competitions.

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Diego Simeone took the chance to rotate his starting XI for a game sandwiched between both legs of the Champions League last-16 clash with Tottenham and, thanks to Molina, it was just enough to get the job done.

Molina served notice to the visitors in the opening moments, firing just wide with the first strike of the afternoon, and he created his own chance to put the hosts ahead from nothing.

Recovering the ball with one well-placed boot after a loose pass in his direction, he launched a sensational first time strike past David Soria.

Alexander Sorloth headed against the post after being teed up by Álex Baena just before the half-hour mark as the Rojiblancos hogged possession but there was no addition to the scoreline before the interval.

The balance tipped even further against Getafe when Morocco international Abqar paid for a moment of indiscretion, swiping at Sorloth's groin off the ball before the Norwegian grabbed back and flung him to the turf.

That sent referee Miguel Ortiz heading to assess the VAR replay and he punished Abqar for the initial offence with a straight red card.

Instead of taking advantage of the numbers game there were chances at each end, Adrián Liso going close to equalising with an injury-time header that took a sharp diving save from Juan Musso, while Julian Alvare had an effort bravely blocked on the line by Juan Iglesias.