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
come on you can't compare Atletico Madrid with Barcelona, you're really making a wrong comparison
let's say that there are two strong teams, in my opinion, Real Madrid and Barcelona, the others have to fight to get into the Champions League
no one can aspire to first place in La Liga except those two at the moment