Abdelaziz Barrada thumped home a delightful free-kick for the equaliser on 40 minutes before he swung over a free-kick for Michel to nod the 10 men ahead on 49 minutes.
Atletico did little or nothing after falling behind on miserable night for the visiting fans, but equalised when Alvaro Dominguez's shot took a wicked deflection before flying beyond the impressive Miguel Moya in the home goal on 80 minutes.
Getafe won it with seven minutes left when Arda Turan was harshly deemed to have fouled Diego Castro, who picked himself up off the deck to convert the winning goal.
Getafe had won just three of their 14 top-flight meetings with Atlético, but move off the bottom of the table with this unlikely win.
Luis García’s men were without a win in six in the league, but were more than worthy of the three points against an Atletico side who seemed clueless on how to use the one-man advantage to their benefit for over an hour.
Liga - Atletico lose to 10-man Getafe
