Atlético were seven points adrift of the top of La Liga after drawing to Eibar two weeks ago, and it was not out of the question their rivals were loading up for a knockout blow at the Santiago Bernabéu this weekend.
Atlético were staring at the possibility of a double-digit deficit which, even as early as October, would have been a big gap to close.
“This is a wake-up call,” Simeone said at the time. “It is the best thing that can happen to us.”
But after back-to-back wins Atlético come into Saturday’s game just two points behind Barcelona, who top the table on goal difference, as well as Real, who drew away at Athletic Bilbao before being hammered 3-0 by Sevilla on Wednesday.
“We are getting used to winning again,” said Atlético’s Filipe Luís, while Ángel Correa added: “This is the Atlético we want.”
Some had put a line through Atlético a month ago but they will move above Real with a win – and could even go top if Barça’s dip continues at home to Bilbao.
What is clear is that neither Barcelona nor Real Madrid were as formidable as their early form suggested, while Atlético were perhaps undersold by their lumbering out of the blocks.
All three have shown they are fallible.
Real were torn apart in 39 first-half minutes at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuan, which might have been marked down as a one-off were it not for Sevilla capitalising on the same counter-attacks Espanyol had attempted the week before, but failed to exploit.
Atlético have also been wasteful up front. Antoine Griezmann has been indecisive, and Diego Costa is without a league goal since February.
There is also Griezmann’s recent spat with Real’s Sergio Ramos to add another layer of intrigue. Ramos dismissed the Frenchman’s suggestion he could do little more to win the Ballon d’Or. “Ignorance makes you bold,” Ramos said.
Perhaps the difference is Griezmann is yet to win the Champions League and in that regard, he shares the same ache as Barcelona, whose pursuit of success in Europe appears already to be disrupting their domestic rhythm.
Many Barça fans have still not forgiven Ernesto Valverde for last season’s quarterfinal collapse against Roma, and chief among the complaints was his failure to rest key players.
This week he left out Philippe Coutinho, Ivan Rakitić, and Samuel Umtiti against Girona and, albeit with 10 men, they drew 2-2. He left out Luis Suárez and Jordi Alba against Leganés on Wednesday, and they lost 2-1.
“Obviously, it is easy now to talk about the rotations,” Valverde said. “In the end, matches are analysed on results – but you can’t win the league with only 11 players.”
Barça host Bilbao on Saturday, four days before facing Tottenham at Wembley and Umtiti’s suspension means one player he cannot leave out against Spurs is Gerard Piqué, even if the defender’s error-count must be a concern.
Clement Lenglet is likely to replace Umtiti in London and could be given another run-out this weekend after being sent off against Girona.
Elsewhere, Sevilla travel to Eibar on Saturday while Valencia, still without a win this season, play away at Real Sociedad.