This season, one team has thus far put together one of the all-time great league campaigns and in the process emerged as among the favourites to claim a first Champions League title in the club's history.
Yet, in spite of all of this, not many have paid much heed to this club's remarkable feats thus far. As has so often been the case with this club, their achievements this season have once again undeservedly ended up going under almost everyone's radar.
This club is Atlético Madrid; their remarkable La Liga campaign saw yet another victory this past matchday. Atlético registered a 2-1 victory over Granada, with Marcos Llorente and Ángel Correa scoring the two goals that extended Atlético's lead at the top of the league to eight points despite having played one match less.
To put into perspective just how dominant Atlético have been domestically, they are currently on pace for 98 points in the league. This total would be the fourth-highest of all time and the most since Barcelona had 100 in the 2012-13 season. In comparison, Premier League and Serie A leaders Manchester City and AC Milan are on pace for 88 and 85 respectively, while Bundesliga leaders would be on track to hit 91 points if the Bundesliga were played over 38 matches instead of 34.
In the Champions League, Atlético should face little to no difficulty in disposing of Chelsea in the round of 16. From that point forth, no team will want to face the club enjoying what might turn out to be the finest season they have ever had.
Looking at this current Atlético team, one name stands out. The primary reason for their success, the foundation on which this team is built, and the absolute force of nature who had made the Atlético goal an almost-impenetrable fortress is Jan Oblak. The Slovenian is far and away the best goalkeeper in the world and has been so for the majority of the past four years. Ever since Oblak became the club's starting goalkeeper at the beginning of the 2015-16 season, Atlético have averaged 0.65 goals conceded per match - an absolutely remarkable figure in the most attacker-friendly of Europe's four major football leagues. Atlético and Oblak have continued this goalkeeping excellence this season with 13 conceded in their 21 league matches to date. Oblak's mere presence between the posts gives Atlético such a boost that it's almost as though they start every match a goal ahead.
Up front, the 34-year-old Luis Suárez has kept Father Time at bay. The Uruguayan leads the league in goals scored with 16. His acquisition from Barça during the off-season has arguably been the factor most directly linked to Atlético's ascension this season. His arrival at the Wanda Metropolitano not only filled a void vacated by the departure of Antoine Griezmann over a year before; it also dealt a severe blow to the Catalan club's chances to win any silverware this season. Barcelona replaced Suárez by signing Francisco Trincão from Braga. Up to this point, the Portuguese striker has not lived up to his price tag of €31 million. Just to rub it in for Barça, Suárez left on a free transfer.
Perhaps at season's end, this will be the season in which Atlético head coach Diego Simeone finally gets the credit he so richly deserves. Since taking over at Atlético in 2011, Simeone has again and again taken the club to overachievement. However, his relative lack of titles belies his actual coaching skill; despite having just two major titles to his name during this time, the Argentinean is arguably the best coach on the planet today; the only coaches on his level are Jürgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola, and Zinedine Zidane. A Champions League title would make Simeone unquestionably the best coach in the world.
You can't say that many clubs deserve a season like this more than Atlético. This is a club which is superbly run from top to bottom and one in which everyone has truly bought into the system. Despite their relative lack of financial might in comparison to many of their direct rivals, Atlético have once again shown that it can still be done "the right way".
Quietly impressive though they may have been, their success speaks louder than any media attention ever could.
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