Prior to his side’s round of seven La Liga encounter with Valencia, Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone told the media: “As they are not in European competition this season, Valencia will have to try hard not to be in the top four [in Spain].”

The quote from the Argentine boss had been perceived by some as a way of ‘unnerving’ his opponent on Saturday. But most fans understood that it was a sign of respect for a high-flying Valencia side which had been playing fantastic football during the early part of La Liga’s season.

And after today’s 3-1 victory over Atletico at the Mestalla, Valencia have once again climbed to the top of the Spanish table – if only for a few more hours until Barcelona plays Rayo Vallecano.

Valencia jumped on the opportunity of playing Simeone’s side on Saturday, after the reigning La Liga winners spent a week playing against their bitter-rivals Sevilla domestically and the Serie A champions Juventus in the Champions League.

Los Che came out and put the champions under pressure during the opening thirteen minutes of their La Liga encounter, and Atletico were slow and lethargic in response.

An own-goal from Miranda, then a goal one minute later from Andre Gomes, followed by a dagger from Nicolas Otamendi in the thirteenth minute; put the Spanish champions in a 3-0 hole which they would never recover from – Valencia would go on to win, 3-1.

Before the start of the La Liga campaign, it was expected that four clubs would battle it out for the final Champions League spot in the Spanish Primera Division: Valencia, Sevilla, Athletic Bilbao and Villareal.

Bilbao are currently struggling with the task of balancing a schedule filled with domestic and European fixtures, as the club only has four points after six matches in La Liga and are bottom of Group H in the Champions League.

Sevilla and Villareal are fourth and seventh place in La Liga respectively, and are both on top of their Europa League groups after two matches.

But Valencia have no other concerns – except for La Liga – and they are benefiting from the time away from European competition.

A season with no Champions League or Europa League is not something the Spanish club is used to. After finishing in eighth place in Spain last season, Valencia missed out on Europe for the first time since the 2004-05 season.

Los Che have won La Liga six times over the course of the club’s history and – until the rise of Atletico Madrid – had been the only consistent challengers to the league dominance of Barcelona and Real Madrid in the 2000’s.

But the sale of the club to Peter Lim this summer allowed Valencia to reinforce their squad during the transfer window after a disappointing 2013-14 campaign.

Players were brought in on loan before the sale was completed, to ensure that the club were abiding by the rules set by UEFA which had determined that Valencia need to cover some of its debt before making new signings. Once the sale was completed, the deals were made permanent.

Rodrigo Moreno was signed from Benfica to link up with Alcacer and Jonas. Centre-backs Nicolas Otamendi and German international Shkodran Mustafi were also purchased as defensive reinforcements, after Valencia saw standout defenders: Juan Bernat, Jeremy Mathieu and Ever Banega; all sign with other European clubs (Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Sevilla respectively).

Nuno Espirito Santo was brought in to replace Antonio Pizzi. The Portuguese boss had previously managed Rio Ave from 2012-14 and during his second season had orchestrated the club’s second place finish in both the Portuguese Cup and Portuguese League Cup.

Although Manchester City loanee Alvaro Negredo has yet to suit up due to injury, Valencia have exploded out of the starting gates by taking 17 points in their opening seven La Liga matches. They have a good mixture of veteran players and youth, with a balance of technical skill in the midfield and strong full-back play in defense.

Nuno Santo’s men have also shown a proclivity for hitting teams on the counter-attack during the early part of the season. All of this has led to Valencia moving in and out of Spain’s top spot during La Liga’s opening weeks.

Unlike his main top four competitors, Nuno Santo hasn’t had to worry about stretching his squad week after week. Valencia players have had time to recover from their weekend efforts, while spending valuable time during the mid-week building their team chemistry.

Up to this point, the results have been better than expected for the club. If other Spanish side’s continue to struggle with their domestic and European duties, it could bode well for Los Che and their supporters this season. Valencia could see a top four finish – or better.