Atletico Madrid Cannot Afford Any More Slip-Ups in La Liga Title Race

Spain doesn't have much of a winter break this season, but it is still a sufficient enough pause for reflection—a chance to grab some air. And Atletico Madrid will be taking stock of their position, which is a little deceptive.

Nobody would deny the Rojiblancos don't deserve to be top of the league, level on points with Barcelona after 16 games, though the Catalans have one game in hand.

After a slightly shaky start, Diego Simeone's team found their stride and started to deliver in the same old Atletico way. A 1-0 win here. A 2-0 win there. Plenty of fight, a little flair and a lot of simple, hard work.

So far, so good. But to stay in the title race, Atletico need to sharpen up.

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Assuming Barcelona win their game in hand, Atletico will be three points behind them and two ahead of city rivals Real Madrid.

Celta Vigo, who are fourth with 31 points, cannot be ruled out from the race, either, even if most assume it will be the big three scrapping it out when the season approaches crunch time.

Rafa Benitez's Real, meanwhile, are unpredictable. They have failed to set the world alight despite scorelines such as the recent 10-2 win over Rayo Vallecano.

But with the quality of players they have at their disposal, many of whom are not yet hitting their best form, they will always be a threat.

If things click under Rafa or Madrid get a new coach in, there is nothing to stop them going on a winning streak.

Atletico need to make sure they keep their advantage over Madrid by not slipping up in games they should be winning, such as the clash against Malaga last time out.

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Heading to La Rosaleda is not the easiest task, but the Andalusian side have been in abysmal form this season. However, thanks to a silly Gabi red card and a late winner from Charles, Simeone's side headed back to the Spanish capital with nothing.

Atletico had gone the previous 15 games unbeaten and were hoping to win and be outright leaders of La Liga at Christmas, but they took their eye off the ball.

It wasn't a smash-and-grab by the hosts though, with Malaga outperforming Atletico throughout the clash. Javi Gracia's side were much improved, sufficiently so to end a nine-game winning streak for the Rojiblancos.

Fernando Torres continued to toil in front of goal, replacing Luciano Vietto at half-time but finding himself unable to threaten Carlos Kameni's goal.

This could yet be a good season for Atletico, but there can be no more mistakes. They are still to face many of La Liga's top sides away from home, including their fellow title contenders, Barcelona and Real Madrid.

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They head to the Camp Nou at the end of January, and the goal for Simeone's team is to able to arrive for that clash keeping pace with the Catalans.

To do so, they will likely need to see off Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday before hosting Levante and then heading to Balaidos to face Celta Vigo on January 10.

That is a huge clash, one that could make or break Celta's participation in the title race or mark out Atletico as not being quite at the necessary level this season. They then travel to Las Palmas and play Sevilla at home before the clash with the reigning Primera Division champions.

Looking further down the line, the second Madrid derby of the season will take place on February 28, four days after Atletico are in the Netherlands to face PSV Eindhoven.

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That timing is not perfect for Simeone and his men, but they must roll with the punches as they strive to proceed on three fronts, with Copa del Rey ties against Rayo forthcoming too.

New arrival Matias Kranevitter will help lessen the load in midfield, especially useful given Tiago's long-term injury, and Simeone will need either Jackson Martinez to recover from his own fitness issues or Torres to start functioning again if Atletico are to find success.

The key for Simeone, though, will be proceeding as he always does, game by game, doing his best to prevent any further stumbles.