So much for Spain's Primera Liga being the most predictable league in Europe. A game off the halfway point of the season and Atletico Madrid sit joint-top with Barcelona and five points ahead of their glamorous neighbours, whom they have already beaten at the Bernabeu.
This was a great year for Diego Simeone's side, who had failed to beat Real Madrid this century until the Copa del Rey final.
"There are technical differences between us and Real Madrid," Simeone said. "If we play 10 games against them, it is normal to lose eight. Obviously, you don't go into the match to lose, but this is football and we have to be realistic.
"And the reality is that they are better than us, so they are more likely to win. But that doesn't mean that they're going to win."
Thanks to Atletico's extra-time winner, the biggest psychological block in Spanish football melted away. Victory gave Atletico belief, and they remain in contention for a first title since the 1996 side in which Simeone was the heartbeart.
Other sides have impressed. After a poor start, Real Sociedad have recovered the form that helped them finish fourth last season. They looked as callow as their 35-year-old manager Jagoba Arrasate in the Uefa Champions League, but five wins from their past six league games have bigger clubs watching their star players such as Antoine Griezmann.
Their Basque neighbours, Athletic Bilbao, have also impressed. They are the only team to beat Barcelona and they sit fourth, eight points behind the top three, as they hope to bring Champions League football to their huge new San Mames fortress, where they remain unbeaten.
The stadium deserves European football, and the fourth stand will be completed by next season.
With their deep squads filled with world-class talents, Real Madrid and Barcelona remain favourites for the title. Both have suffered set-backs in a league where a single defeat causes consternation for the big two. Madrid are much improved after their early-season wobbles. World-record signing Gareth Bale has settled quickly to form the most potent attack in world football alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. They would prefer a record 10th European Cup rather than the league title, and the five-point gap behind the teams they have been chasing since September is not inconsiderable, yet Madrid are in the groove.
Promoted Villarreal have been a surprise, too. Aiming to finish mid-table they sit sixth, having held Madrid and ended Atletico Madrid's unbeaten run.
Sevilla have recovered from an atrocious start and risen to seventh with four wins and a draw from their past six. Malaga, Champions League quarter-finalists in April, sold their best players and suffered major cut-backs. It could have fallen apart at the Rosaleda, yet they are in form and 13th. Survival will be a relative success.
Espanyol's crowds are plummeting yet they are ninth. Getafe have never had such crowds but they are eighth.
Valencia sacked their new coach Miroslav Djukic last week. Tenth place is nowhere near good enough for a club of their standing, financial problems or not. No surprises among the rest of the league, apart from Real Betis sitting bottom.
They will need to start winning when the league resumes in January. Atletico have never stopped.
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