Griezmann Back in Form Will Keep Atletico Madrid's Title Fight Going to the End

Atletico Madrid's comfortable 3-0 win over Real Sociedad on Tuesday night was impressive in the extreme, coming just a couple of days after beating Real Madrid in El Derbi Madrileno and taking the Vicente Calderon side to six games unbeaten in all competitions of late.

A Diego Reyes own goal and further strikes from Saul and Antoine Griezmann sent Atleti to the three points, with the home side so comfortable during the match that manager Diego Simeone felt compelled to rest three of his key players with substitutions: Diego Godin, Gabi and Griezmann.

Putting together the type of relentless winning run that they managed earlier on in the campaign is absolutely pivotal if Atleti want to sustain their title challenge, pushing Barcelona all the way, and they certainly look capable of doing it again—especially now that key forward Griezmann is back in scoring form.

Early season run, revisited

Between the start of October and December 20, Atleti went more than two-and-a-half months without defeat across three competitions. A total of 15 matches were played in that span, with 12 wins clocked up.

That is the type of relentless focus on victories needed to win the title in Spain, of course elongated over much more of the season, with a minimum 80 per cent win rate typically required to be in the running. Only Barcelona have won more matches, as well as more points, than Atletico at this stage, and it's no surprise to see the Catalan outfit currently hitting the 80 per cent mark.

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

During that autumn run of form, Atleti kept nine clean sheets as they showcased their great strength in defence, but there was only a single 0-0 draw as the front line also showed an ability to score when it mattered and ensured three points were clocked up, even if the overall attacking display wasn't exactly of a virtuoso and exciting level game in, game out.

Only once in that run did Atleti score more than twice in a single game, at home to Astana in the UEFA Champions League, but such is the power and consistency of the defence, they didn't need to.

Griezmann

When the front line is misfiring, however, it's a different matter.

After Jackson Martinez's failure to adapt and his subsequent transfer to China, Antoine Griezmann is the single goalscoring option at the club, supported by three alternately misfiring forwards in rotation: Luciano Vietto, Fernando Torres and Angel Correa. The former hasn't scored in La Liga since October, the latter since December. Torres netted two in as many games only a couple of weeks ago, but before that, he had waited four months since his last Liga strike.

All the pressure and goalscoring burden is on Griezmann, now on 13 in La Liga and 20 for the season overall after his penalty against La Real, but it was noticeable during a recent fallow period for the Frenchman that Atleti as a whole struggled in front of goal. Just recently, they went over 300 minutes without hitting the back of the net, before Griezmann himself ended that run against Real Madrid.

PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/Getty Images

Saul also deserves a shout, with the midfield powerhouse netting his seventh of the season on Tuesday—the all-rounder has been an important part of the scoring solution.

With the No. 7 in form and finding the net by whatever means necessary—he is capable of solo strikes, long-range efforts, set pieces and six-yard tap-ins—Atletico's attacking confidence as a whole surges.

It's what they need. The defence is set, and it can perform on demand, but the additional two points come from scoring, relentlessly, in each game.

Slim chance

Despite a much-improved run of late and closing the gap at the top to five points, Diego Simeone acknowledges his side still have only a small opportunity to lift the title this season.

Marca reported his comments before the win on Tuesday: "We have a clear goal, namely to keep bettering ourselves. We always want to improve ... irrespective of what Barca do, and there's fat chance of them losing. They're clearly the best right now, so there's very little chance of them losing."

PAU BARRENA/Getty Images

It's a fair point, considering Barca have won nine in a row in league play and are unbeaten since October, but performances have faltered slightly of late. That, plus some tough games still to play this season, could yet see the gap narrowed further.

Arsenal, Villarreal, El Clasico against Real Madrid—they're all matches that will test not only Barcelona's quality, but also their stamina and endurance within a couple of weeks of each other.

Atleti have a straight-forward enough set of fixtures to complete their Liga campaign, with perhaps Athletic Club or Malaga the toughest tests left.

Relentlessness is the key to the title at this stage. They have it defence in spades, but they now need Griezmann and Co. to see out the campaign in the same manner in attack.

Follow @karlmatchett