It was always going to be difficult for Atletico Madrid to match their achievements from the 2013-14 season, where they won their first Spanish title since 1996 and reached the final of the Champions League.
The loss of a number of key players last summer made their task even harder, but all things considered, it has been a solid campaign for the capital side, who ultimately finished third in La Liga behind Barcelona and Real Madrid.
There was disappointment in both the Copa del Rey and Champions League, but they did win the Spanish Super Cup at the start of the season and will again be competitive next term.
Here, Sports Mole has taken a closer look at Atletico's 2014-15 season.
August
It proved to be a summer of change for the defending league champions, with Thibaut Courtois returning to his parent club Chelsea, while Diego Costa and Filipe Luis also made the move to Stamford Bridge.
There were incomings, however, with Mario Mandzukic, Antoine Griezmann, Raul Jimenez, Jan Oblak and Miguel Moya among those that arrived at the Vicente Calderon.
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 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.
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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.
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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
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November also started in the best possible way as Atletico made 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.
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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, 2014 ended in positive fashion as they won 4-1 at Athletic Bilbao courtesy of a hat-trick from Griezmann to consolidate third spot in the table. Atletico ended the year three points behind second-placed Barcelona and four points behind the leaders Real Madrid, who had played a game fewer.
January
The return of Fernando Torres on loan until the end of the 2015-16 season was confirmed at the start of 2015, with the Spaniard permanently joining AC Milan from Chelsea and then jumping ship to return to Madrid. Torres was not involved in Atletico's first league game of the year, but Griezmann scored twice in a 3-1 victory over Levante.
The small matter of Real Madrid in the last-16 stage of the Copa del Rey was next up for Atletico and Simeone's side recorded a 2-0 win in the first leg on home soil, with Torres making his second debut for the reigning Spanish champions.
Back-to-back victories at the start of the year were dampened somewhat, however, when Atletico were beaten 3-1 at Barcelona in the league, which further strengthened Real Madrid's grip on first position.
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January 15 brought the second leg of their Copa del Rey last-16 clash against Real Madrid and it was a historic match for Torres, who scored twice - including one in the first minute - to secure a 2-2 draw and book Atletico's spot in the quarter-finals. The prodigal son was home and the feel-good factor was back around the Calderon.
Atletico returned to winning ways in the league on January 18 with a 2-0 win over Granada, but they were beaten 1-0 at Barcelona in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarter-final courtesy of a late goal from Lionel Messi.
Their league form remained strong as they overcame Rayo Vallecano 3-1 at the Vicente Calderon, but the capital outfit did exit the Copa del Rey to Barcelona after losing 3-2 on home soil.
The month did end in positive fashion, however, with a 3-1 win at Eibar in the league. There would be no Copa del Rey crown this season, but the Champions League would return in February, with Bayer Leverkusen waiting in the wings.
February
Real Madrid were the visitors to the Calderon in Atletico's first league game of the month and it proved to be an incredible afternoon for Simeone's side, who thumped their rivals 4-0 to aid suggestions that they could make another push for the title.
Jubilation became frustration one week later, however, when they lost 2-0 at Celta Vigo. Home form remained solid for Atletico, but they were struggling for consistency on their travels.
A return to the Vicente Calderon brought a return to winning ways on February 21 as they warmed up for their Champions League return with a 3-0 win over Almeria.
Atletico's away struggles continued in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League clash, however, with Leverkusen deservedly recording a 1-0 victory in Germany. The month started with their best result of the season, but ended with back-to-back away defeats.
March
March was the month where Atletico really lost ground on Real Madrid and Barcelona in La Liga. Three straight league draws occurred in the opening two weeks of the month, with Sevilla, Valencia and Espanyol all holding the Spanish champions.
As it transpired, Sevilla and Valencia would both push for the top four in the final weeks of the season, but those three difficult games allowed the top two in Spain to open up clear ground over the current champions.
A run of four games without a win came to a close on March 17, however, when Atletico beat Leverkusen 1-0 in the second leg of their last-16 Champions League clash. That brought extra-time and ultimately penalties, where last season's finalists prevailed 3-2 to set up another meeting with Real Madrid.
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Atletico followed up their Champions League success with a 2-0 victory over Getafe on March 21 to ensure that it would be a positive end to the month for the capital outfit.
More good news followed at the end of March when it was confirmed that head coach Simeone had signed a new contract extension until 2020, ending speculation that the Argentine would leave in the summer.
April
Atletico made it three straight victories at the start of the month when they won 2-0 at Cordoba, before recording the same scoreline against Real Sociedad on April 7. Their away struggles remained, however, with a 2-2 draw at Malaga seeing them drop more ground on the top two ahead of the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
Atletico made it seven games unbeaten against Real Madrid in the first leg of their European tie, with a 0-0 draw at the Vicente Calderon leaving the quarter-final delicately poised ahead of the return game on April 22.
Sandwiched between the two-legged affair was a 2-1 win at Deportivo La Coruna, which was much-needed during a spell where Valencia were really pressing for a top-three finish.
It looked for all the world as if extra time would occur in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on April 22 after another nervy game against Real Madrid, but an 88th-minute effort from Javier Hernandez saw Los Blancos advance to the semi-finals by the narrowest of margins and leave Atletico facing a trophyless season.
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The disappointment of their Champions League exit would have been difficult to digest, but they did return to winning ways in the league with back-to-back victories over Elche and Villarreal at the end of the month. Griezmann was in fine form, meanwhile, with the Frenchman making it six goals in his last three league matches with another double against Elche.
May
Atletico's solid league form continued at the start of the month and back-to-back draws against Athletic Bilbao and Levante made it 13 games unbeaten in Spain's top flight. A strike relating to TV rights threatened to end the Spanish season with still two matches to play, but that was lifted on May 14.
Atletico won last season's title at the Camp Nou at this stage of the campaign, but Barcelona had the chance to gain some revenge on May 17, with victory for the Catalan outfit enough to secure the crown. As it transpired, that was indeed the case, with Messi securing the championship courtesy of a second-half effort.
On the final weekend of the season, Atletico needed a point at Granada to make sure of third position and that was indeed the case as Simeone's team played out a goalless draw to finish one point above Valencia.
Matt Law
