The reasons Atletico Madrid can win LaLiga LaLiga Relentlessly pushing in second place

Atletico Madrid will not give up and Diego Simeone's team have reached the halfway point of the season with 42 points and in second place.

With only Barcelona ahead of them in the standings, the clear favourites to lift the title, there is still hope for Los Colchoneros, who are beginning to think, why can't Atletico win the league?

Here, we look at the reasons why Simeone's team could be the eventual victors.

Because of Vitolo and Costa

Atletico arrived at the end of December with the same tally as last season, despite a FIFA imposed transfer ban. Now, they have the signings that they wanted, Vitolo and Diego Costa, who undoubtedly improve the team and have already notched three goals between them.

Because Oblak is unbeatable

Jan Oblak, or 'the unbeatable', 'the wall', 'the saviour', is a goalkeeper who saves his team time and time again with superb saves. With the Slovenian between the sticks, it is like starting the game with a goal advantage, as was the case in Eibar when he was crucial to keeping a clean sheet.

Because they now have three games at home

After ongoing works at the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano delayed the club's debut at their new ground, Atleti will now play their next three games on home turf against Girona, Las Palmas and Valencia with the support of their fans to cut the distance from Barcelona.

Because they're on form

From the last seven games, Atletico have won six. Only Espanyol have taken points off of them with a fortunate goal from Sergio Garcia, whilst Levante, Real Sociedad, Real Betis, Alaves, Getafe and Eibar have all been beaten.

Because everyone is scoring

Antoine Griezmann, Fernando Torres, Kevin Gameiro, Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco, Vitolo, Angel Correa, Diego Costa... The past four games have shown the diversity of goalscorers at the club.

Because 'Profe' Ortega has the squad in great shape

The team play the same as they train, and the staff and squad know it, if anyone forgets then Simeone won't hesitate to remind them as he did by stopping training before the Eibar game. Now halfway through the season, keeping fit is crucial and that's why Simeone and Ortega have worked so hard on their routine of hard work, effort and sacrifice to stay in shape.

Because they owe their fans

After the humiliation of Champions League elimination, the squad want to reward the dedication of their fans with a trophy, and fans still believe in the team's ability to do it.