This time last season, Atletico Madrid were second in La Liga, nine points behind leaders and eventual winners Barcelona.

Diego Simeone's side occupy second once more in the latter stages of 2013, but this time they are level on points with Barcelona ahead of the second half of the season.

Los Rojiblancos have also advanced into the latter stages of the Champions League and Copa del Rey, with a potentially record-breaking 2014 ahead.

Here, Sports Mole recaps an incredible first half of the season for the capital outfit.

August

Top scorer from the last two seasons Radamel Falcao had departed for Monaco in the summer, but David Villa was picked up from Barcelona, with the Spanish international expected to provide support to a revitalised Diego Costa.

Their La Liga campaign began in positive fashion as they won 3-1 at Sevilla, before they drew 1-1 with Barcelona in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup at the Vicente Calderon.

A 5-0 thumping over Rayo Vallecano made it two wins from two in the league, but they missed out on the chance to secure the first piece of silverware of the season as a 0-0 draw in the Camp Nou handed the Spanish Super Cup to Barcelona on away goals.

Despite the disappointment, Atletico's performances in their two matches against Barcelona fuelled suggestions that the 2013 Copa del Rey winners could cause a stir in the league this season.

September

September proved to be an incredible month for Atletico as the Spanish outfit notched six wins in all competitions to keep pace with Barcelona in La Liga.

The month began with back-to-back league wins over Real Sociedad and Almeria, before they opened their Champions League campaign with a 3-1 victory over Russian outfit Zenit St Petersburg.

Two more league wins followed as they overcame Real Valladolid and Osasuna in quick succession, before they demonstrated their title credentials with an incredible performance in the Bernabeu.

Costa's strike, which was his fifth in his last four games, was enough to secure all three points in a 1-0 win against Real Madrid, with Atletico matching Barcelona stride for stride at the top of the table.

October

Atletico moved onto six points in their Champions League group with a sensational 2-1 win in Porto on the first of the month, with that result ending their Iberian rivals' long unbeaten European record on their own patch.

League win number eight followed as they beat Celta Vigo 2-1 at the Vicente Calderon, but they did suffer their first defeat of the season after the international break with a 1-0 reverse at Espanyol.

They showed their character in the final three games of the month, however, with wins over Austria Vienna, Real Betis and Granada continuing their incredible start to the season.

Costa, meanwhile, continued to rattle in the goals as his strike partnership with Villa made Falcao's contribution in the previous campaign a distant memory.

November

A 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao on November 3 continued Atletico's incredible league form, while Champions League qualification was also secured when they thumped Austria Vienna 4-0 in the Spanish capital.

They were held at high-flying Villarreal on November 10, but returned to form in incredible fashion with a 7-0 win over Getafe. That result left them trailing the leaders Barcelona by just three points, but Real Madrid's winning run moved them to within three of second position as the battle at the top intensified.

They dropped their first Champions League points at the end of the month following a 1-1 draw at Zenit, but were 2-0 winners over Elche in their final league game of November.

December

Copa del Rey qualification was secured in December as they overcame Sant Andreu 6-1 on aggregate, while a 2-0 win over Porto in their final Champions League fixture ensured that they topped the group and were consequently paired with AC Milan in the last-16 stage.

Wins against Valencia and Levante in the league meant that they entered the winter break level on points with leaders Barcelona, but they missed the chance to temporarily sit top of the division on December 21 after failing to find a fourth goal against Levante.

December proved to be an unwelcome month in terms of transfer rumours, however, with star striker Costa and Spanish midfielder Koke both linked with Premier League moves in the winter window.

Head coach Simeone, meanwhile, was strongly linked with the managerial position at Tottenham Hotspur after Andre Villas-Boas was relieved of his duties.

It will not come as much of a surprise that Atletico currently boast the best defensive record in La Liga having conceded just 11 times, while 19 league goals from Costa have fuelled suggestions that Atletico could break the Barcelona, Real Madrid domination in Spain in 2014. Watch this space.