This time Atletico Madrid seem like they have started to improve their form earlier compared to the previous season. This is a good sign for them to fight for top places easier. I don't know if they can maintain their claim for the title until the end of the season but we will see. If they are eliminated from the Champions League early then their main target would be the La Liga. Otherwise I don't know how much good they can balance both tournaments.
Their next game is against Girona home and I expect a comfortable win. They had better win that before playing a very difficult game against A. Bilbao after that.
I don't think Atletico Madrid's performance is good enough. Atlético Madrid has won 4 out of 7 matches. And they scored 12 goals in 7 matches. The performance of Athletic Club and Real Betis is still better than that of Atletico Madrid. And so it is still completely uncertain whether Atlético Madrid will qualify for the Champions League. Atlético Madrid will not fight for the title. Atletico Madrid's aim is to qualify for the Champions League. They have a strong squad. If the coach is able to implement his match strategy correctly, maybe Atletico Madrid will qualify for the Champions League.
They are still bad in the Champions League as they got another loss. But in the La Liga, there has been some improvement in their performance. They were really impressive against Sevilla in their last game. If they keep that performance in offense they can start a nice winning streak. But of course they are still not one of the most reliable teams of the league. They need to earn this by being more consistent. Even if they don't manage to beat either Barcelona or Real Madrid, they must be able to stay strong against weaker teams than them.