Diego Simeone has cautioned Atletico Madrid that "100% is not enough" if they want to challenge Barcelona and Real Madrid for the LaLiga title.
Atletico cruised to a 3-0 win over Girona on Sunday to move back to third in the table, though they remain nine points behind leaders Barcelona heading into Christmas.
Koke scored a stunning goal, his 50th for Atletico in all competitions, with substitutes Conor Gallagher and Antoine Griezmann also getting on the scoresheet.
Atletico have now scored 10 goals thanks to substitute players in LaLiga 2025-26, more than any other team in the competition this season.
And though his side made it back-to-back wins after two consecutive defeats, Simeone highlighted the importance of consistently performing at their highest level if they want to be in the title race.
"Last season we competed very well in the Champions League, but in LaLiga we lacked that extra push, determination and conviction. To get where we want to go, 100% is not enough," he said.
"Every time we see Real Madrid and Barcelona, I think about this, because of the different situations; we have to give 110% or 120%.
"We failed to reach that level, and that's why we've been stuck in the position we've been in recently."
After an indifferent start to the season, Atletico have pushed themselves back up the table and have won eight of their last 10 matches (L2).
But Simeone is thrilled his side managed to put that difficult period behind them.
"By the halfway point of the season, the team had come out of a difficult situation at the beginning, where we weren't seeing what we wanted to see," he added.
"You were criticising us, we wanted to improve, and the players wanted to evolve.
"Fortunately, hard work, faith, conviction, self-confidence, and knowing exactly what we want gave us the peace of mind to continue on the path to what we aim for. And that path teaches us that 100% is not enough."