Atlético Madrid picked up their fourth draw from the last 6 matches in a frustrating affair at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez against Getafe.

We’re struggling, especially on the offensive end, and it was evident against our neighbours. There were several opportunities for Atleti to take the lead, but in the end the Madrid derby ended goalless.

The stat sheet did fill up with plenty of cards that were handed out by referee Delgado Ferreira, who expelled Mario Suárez and Diego Godín, leaving Atleti with just 9 players to finish the game.

Atleti had more reason to complain about Delgado Ferreiro’s officiating, as he neglected to show Getafe’s Alexis Ruano his second yellow card.

Throughout the match Atleti created a handful of scoring opportunities for their usually reliable star striker Radamel Falcao, but the Colombian had an off day on Sunday. Early on, he wasted a perfect opportunity after an attack set up nicely by Koke, Adrián and Diego Costa.

In the 13th minute Diego Castro had his shot blocked at the last minute and at the other end, Adrián nearly scored after cutting inside, but he too was denied by a defender.

Shortly before the break, Koke delivered a great free kick in the area just in front of Codina’s goal, but Falcao wasn’t able to beat the goalkeeper from close range.

At the start of the second half there was more back-and-forth action, as Courtois did well to deny Barrada, while Codina stopped Diego Costa and then made an excellent save on Filipe’s follow-up.

With an hour on the clock Radamel Falcao again found himself in a great position to score, but again Codina did well to deny the Colombian after he had successfully shrugged off a defender.

Diego Simeone then introduced the 18-year old Óliver Torres, who made only his third appearance, in an attempt to break the deadlock. The young midfielder had a solid showing, but a few minutes after his entrance Atleti were reduced to ten when Mario Suárez was shown his second yellow card for an unintentional handball in midfield. Moments before that, Barrada had curled a free kick just inches wide after another confusing decision by Delgado Ferreiro, who awarded a free kick for a nonexistent foul which occurred inside the area.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, Atleti created two more chances to score. First, substitute Cebolla Rodríguez dribbled past three defenders, only to shoot over the crossbar with his weaker right foot.

Later, Filipe Luís found Óliver Torres inside the area for what would have been a memorable moment for the youngster. But Oli hesitated for just a second and was blocked by Lopo.

Getafe increased the pressure in the final minutes but were shut out by Thibaut Courtois, who collected his 16th clean sheet of the season. In the added time Diego Godín received his second booking of the night for an elbow on Álvaro Vazquez, leaving Atleti with 9 men to finish the game.

Next week Atleti, without Mario and Godín, will attempt to break their cold streak when they take on Granada at the Vicente Calderón.