Yes, Atletico Madrid is fairly well place in the table but no better than Barcelona, and to lead the league title next season I think Diego Simeone's squad is still under Xavi's team in some ways.
I don't see anything special about Atletico Madrid this season because they are indeed one of the favorites in the top four so nothing is different if we look at previous seasons
Atletico Madrid is only limited to the favorite team in the top four positions, they still have difficulty surpassing Barcelona and Real Madrid because the squad they have is still below the quality of Barcelona and Real Madrid. Atletico need to make big purchases in the transfer market to become competitors to Barcelona and Real Madrid in fighting for the title, so far the La Liga trophy has been alternately won by Barca and Madrid.
Diego Simeone is a good coach, he also has the credibility to bring Atletico to win La Liga, the problem is that failed to bring Atletico to win La Liga because the squad they have is not ready to compete with Barca and Madrid. I really dream of Atletico being transformed like Arsenal who spend large amounts of money to bring in quality players, if Atletico dares to bring in some quality players, they will be ready to compete for first place in the standings list.