The visitors took the initiative from the first whistle at San Mames, pegging back Athletic at every opportunity. The driving rain in Bilbao meant accurate passing was at a premium, and the visitors certainly adapted quicker.
Athletic tried to get Nico Williams involved whenever they could, but with little success, whilst Luis Milla had Unai Simon scrambling at the opposite end with a deflected shot.
Los Leones were second best to every ball, with only Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta offering anything like an acceptable response to the visitors’ constant attacks.
It wasn’t until the midway point of that half that any Athletic player made inroads into the Getafe box, as Mikel Jauregizar got in behind the visitors’ defence before being crowded out.
The Madrid-based outfit continued to pepper Simon’s goal, and Diego Rico went close.
Right on the half-hour mark, Athletic captain Inigo Lekue had to go off, and his presence was clearly missed as Getafe continued to dominate.
Borja Mayoral somehow failed to connect to Milla’s whipped-in free-kick, before Athletic’s Jesus Areso stopped Kiko Femenia’s brilliant run from developing into a goalscoring chance.
Such was their lack of attacking threat, Athletic’s first shot on target came in first-half stoppage time, when David Soria stopped Oihan Sancet’s low drive with his feet.
Athletic came out after half-time full of purpose, and only Gorka Guruzeta will know how he curled his shot wide despite being unmarked in the area.
Although Getafe were still dangerous on the break, the pendulum had certainly swung in the hosts’ favour, with Williams on the ball more in the opening 10 minutes of the second half than in the entire first 45.
The game quickly developed into an exciting end-to-end contest, even if a shot from Getafe’s Adrian Liso that was safely gathered by Simon was the closest either side had come to breaking the deadlock by the time an hour was on the clock.
The teams knocked the ball around well in the latter stages, but the midfield cancelled each other out and, as a result, genuine goalscoring chances were at a premium.
Nevertheless, with 15 minutes left to play, some chaotic defending from the hosts saw the ball worked across to an unmarked Mayoral, whose low shot into the net silenced the home support.
The hosts subsequently looked for a response, but they were unable to find an equaliser as Getafe prevailed.
The loss is only Athletic's fourth at San Mames in their last 43 encounters (W26, D13), whilst Getafe can celebrate their first win in seven Spanish top-flight games.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Luis Milla (Getafe)