It was a summer of change at Atletico Madrid, who lost the likes of Thibaut Courtois, Diego Costa and Filipe Luis from the team that won their first Spanish title since 1996 last season.

Last season's Champions League finalists made some shrewd signings in the window, however, and have continued their challenge at both home and indeed abroad.

Here, Sports Mole has taken a closer look at the capital outfit's season thus far, remembering the ups and downs at the Vicente Calderon.

August

As league champions, Atletico contested the Spanish Super Cup against Copa del Rey winners Real Madrid towards the end of the month. Diego Simeone's side secured a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu in the first leg, before winning 1-0 at the Vicente Calderon to claim the trophy and dispel suggestions that the loss of key players would harm their chances of success.

In the league, however, they struggled to match the heights of last season – drawing 0-0 at Rayo Vallecano in their opener, before narrowly beating Eibar at the Calderon. The victory over Eibar brought Mario Mandzukic his first league goal for the capital outfit, however, with the Croatian showing signs that he could be the perfect replacement for the departed Costa.

Alessio Cerci also arrived at the Calderon from Torino as Simeone looked to share the goals around following the loss of his star striker. Four points from two league matches, meanwhile, assured that the champions were in and around the early pacesetters in La Liga.

September

September started in the best possible fashion as Atletico won 2-1 at Real Madrid in the league, with Simeone again getting the best of Los Blancos at the Bernabeu. Their Champions League challenge began in disappointment, however, as the Spanish side were beaten 3-2 at Olympiacos.

There was a slight hangover from the European defeat as Celta Vigo secured a 2-2 draw at the Calderon on September 20, but Atletico did return to winning ways in their next match as a second-half goal from Miranda secured all three points against Almeria.

Sevilla arrived at the Calderon in strong form at the end of the month, but Atletico made it back-to-back league wins with a 4-0 success over Unai Emery's side. As a result, Atletico had won four and drawn two of their opening six league matches and another title challenge was looking good.

Their hopes of another Champions League final appearance were downplayed following the defeat in Greece, but there were signs that the capital side could enjoy another prosperous campaign despite a summer of change.

October

Atletico got their Champions League Group A campaign back on track with a 1-0 win over Juventus at the start of the month, but they suffered their first league defeat of the season at Valencia on October 3, with poor defending contributing to a 3-1 defeat at the Mestalla. What had been such a solid defence in the 2013-14 season was starting to show a few cracks.

Simeone then had the frustration of the international break, but three straight wins at the end of the month got their season back on track. Tiago and Mario Suarez scored the goals as Atletico recorded a 2-0 win over Espanyol, before they thumped Malmo 5-0 in the Champions League to make it back-to-back wins in Europe.

October ended with another three points as Atletico won 1-0 at Getafe in what was an ill-tempered derby. Barcelona and Real Madrid had both recovered from disappointing results, however, while Sevilla and Valencia were also enjoying strong seasons. Simeone was all too aware of the challenge facing his team following the opening three months of the season.

November

November also started in the best possible way as Atletico make it four straight wins in all competitions with a 4-2 win over newly-promoted Cordoba. Champions League matters also continued in a positive fashion as the Spanish side won 2-0 at Malmo to place themselves in a strong position despite losing their Group A opener to Olympiacos.

Atletico travelled to Real Sociedad on November 9 looking to continue their winning run, but the champions were beaten 2-1 by the Basque outfit, who were to appoint David Moyes as their new manager in the coming days. It was another disappointing result for Atletico, while a number of their summer signings were still struggling to find their best form.

Atletico responded from the defeat at Sociedad by recording a 3-1 home win over Malaga, before booking their spot in the knockout stage of the Champions League with a 4-0 win over Olympiacos.

Another win arrived at the end of the month, this time in the league, as strikes from Saul Niguez and Arda Turan secured a 2-0 victory over Deportivo La Coruna. Real Madrid and Barcelona were still racking up the wins, however, leaving Atletico third at the end of the month.

December

Atletico opened their Copa del Rey challenge with a 3-0 win at L'Hospitalet in the first leg of their last-32 clash, before picking up a 2-0 win at Elche to continue their strong form in the league.

The Spanish side needed a point against Juventus to ensure that they topped their Champions League group on December 9, and that proved the case as the teams played out a 0-0 draw. As a result, Atletico were paired with Bayer Leverkusen in the knockout stage of the competition.

Atletico then welcomed Villarreal to the Calderon on December 14, but it proved to be a frustrating evening for the champions, who lost to a late strike from Luciano Vietto. They remained third in the table, but were dropping points in the type of matches that they won last season.

Their spot in the last-16 stage of the Copa del Rey was confirmed when they drew 2-2 at home to L'Hospitalet on December 18, but the performance would have disappointed Simeone.

That said, 2015 ended in positive fashion as they won 4-1 at Athletic Bilbao courtesy of a hat-trick from Antoine Griezmann to consolidate third spot in the table. As it stands, they are three points behind second-placed Barcelona and four points behind the leaders Real Madrid, who have played a game fewer.

Star player so far: Koke

Must do better: Miranda

Where they need to strengthen in January: Centre-midfield, striker

Mid-season grade: B+

To see Atletico's remaining fixtures in 2014-15, click here.