This fixture was one of just four defeats Los Blancos suffered en route to the title last year, so Carlo Ancelotti’s men were in the mood for revenge.
That became clear when the visitors raced into the lead inside three minutes as Militao, partly responsible for January’s defeat in this clash, thundered his header past David Soria from Luka Modric’s pinpoint corner.
Real lacked a clinical edge in their draw with Osasuna last time out, and that was on display once more as they allowed the game to drift. Getafe were second best for most of the half, but burst into life and came inches away from finding a leveller.
Fabrizio Angileri’s driven effort almost found former Real Madrid forward Borja Mayoral for a tap-in as it drifted narrowly wide of goal.
The game became incredibly open after the interval as both sides squandered chances. Aurelien Tchouameni forced a save from Soria, before the hosts went up the other end to threaten.
Carles Alena forced Andriy Lunin into a fine stop low to his left before Domingos Duarte fired just wide as Quique Sanchez Flores’ men chased an equaliser.
A raft of late substitutions disrupted the flow of the game as the home crowd grew ever more restless. The disappointing result on their own patch extends a poor home record, with the Azulones winning just one of their last nine league games.
Meanwhile, a first clean sheet of the LaLiga season returned the champions to the top of the table, at least until Barcelona play their next fixture.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Luka Modric (Real Madrid)