Despite Getafe still being fresh from a devastating 5-2 loss against Swiss underdogs Lugano in midweek, they could have struck first within five minutes, but Ramon Terrats’ shot from the edge of the box was too close to Unai Simon to cause him any problems.
Athletic soon clicked into gear though, and they forged ahead when Alex Berenguer took a free-kick to the left of the box, driving in a pseudo-shot that evaded everyone and nestled in at the far post.
Suitably buoyed by only their third first-half goal of this campaign, Athletic continued to look menacing, though Getafe still found a couple of half-opportunities in their quest for an equaliser.
And they again paid the price for their failure to capitalise when a midfield giveaway allowed Berenguer to send Inaki Williams through with a defence-splitting pass, and the former Ghanaian international made no mistake, with a calm finish past David Soria.
Berenguer had the first opportunity to tilt the scoreline further in Athletic’s favour shortly after the interval, but could only sky the ball over from the angle when receiving a lofted pass into the area.
Nemanja Gudelj also fired over down the other end, but it was an isolated chance for the Azulones.
Athletic remained firmly on top despite Getafe’s desperate attempts to disrupt play, and sealed the points in the 70th minute, when Berenguer swung in a corner that Aitor Paredes headed towards goal.
Though it was on target, a deflection off the heel of Jean Ives Valou saw the ball roll into the net past a helpless Soria.
But that wasn’t the end of the scoring, and Berenguer played a role yet again in the fourth goal, after Mario Martin’s late red card for a careless lunge on Benat Gerenabarrena, which earned a free-kick that Yuri Berchiche rocketed into the bottom-left corner via the undisputed man of the match’s flicked pass from the dead ball.
Athletic never remotely looked in danger of losing their unbeaten home league record, while it’s now just one win in 11 overall for Getafe, with only a solitary point separating them from 18th-placed Espanyol.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Alex Berenguer (Athletic Club)
