Atletico Madrid lost key points which cost them a lot this season, and with four points separating them from the league table, they did not seem to be a title candidate anymore. They lost to Leganes, who are at the bottom of the league, and the previous two weeks were against Getafe after Arambarri scored a brace in 6 minutes to help Getafe fight back. Even though one of Atletico Madrid's players was sent off, they still had the power to defeat Getafe, especially when they were leading by one goal.
I thought the game against Barcelona would be an opportunity for Atletico Madrid to bounce back from their Champions League defeat, but they were unable to maintain the advantage and conceded four goals in the second half after 2 goals lead. Atletico Madrid had three consecutive losses, losing two league games and being eliminated from the Champions League; they may recover this season, but they have lost their opportunity to compete in the league.
Considering they are still third place, if they could finish at third place that wouldn't be too terrible for them. They are not paying Simeone 30 million a year so he could be the champion, if he can that would be lovely but he can't do that all the time, once ever 5-6 years is more than enough for them and that is what they are getting. If they could somehow make the team third or better every single year consistently, that would be more than enough.
Simeone managed this team for longer than anyone else currently managing teams I remember, and he has managed to make the team "mostly" third or better, and consistency is the key, if they keep being like this, they are growing and becoming a third piece to two biggest clubs in the league.