Brighton, third in the Premier League, arrived at the Coliseum as favourites and took all three points with a single goal. Getafe, who had conceded five against Lugano in their previous home match, showed a very different face: they kept a clean sheet throughout the first half and had chances to score.
Getafe's best opportunity of the first half fell to Iván Azón, who shot from inside the box and was denied by a fine save from Verbruggen. The striker tried again before the break with an effort from the edge of the area that the Brighton goalkeeper held comfortably.
The biggest scare came at the other end. Hadjam was left one-on-one with David Soria, and the Getafe keeper got just enough on the shot to divert it onto the post. It was still 0-0 at half-time.
Brighton found the goal in the second half. Costinha headed a ball down at the far post and Yalcouyé, arriving at speed, powered a header that came off the crossbar before going in. Soria could do nothing about it.
Bordalás turned to his bench in search of an equaliser, but Getafe lacked clarity in the final third to trouble opponents who managed their lead until the end. "It was exactly the game we expected, a defensive game; we had to be patient," Brighton head coach Fabian Hürzeler said afterwards.
The defeat makes Getafe's European path harder, with just one point out of a possible nine. Three matchdays of the league phase remain to reach the top 24, and Getafe now need to win.
