Diego Simeone urged his Atletico Madrid players to stay grounded during their 14-match winning run that took them to the LaLiga summit on Sunday.
Atletico left rivals Real Madrid behind in the standings after their 1-0 win over Osasuna, with Julian Alvarez's second-half goal enough to seal the win.
Alvarez's goal came after a short corner, in which Antoine Griezmann found Clement Lenglet at the back post, who then turned the ball into the Argentine's path.
The former Manchester City striker has now scored 13 goals in 28 appearances in all competitions, but Simeone said his latest effort was something Atletico had been working on.
“We had spoken to the boys about giving set pieces the importance they deserve. It gives us the chance to win games when it is not easy,” Simeone told reporters.
“The players have done a great job in recent months, there is a collective effort… They know how to suffer and understand that there will be difficulties at every step.”
Atletico's club-record run started at the end of October with a 2-0 win over sixth-tier Copa del Rey side Unio Esportiva Vic.
They also beat fellow title challengers Barcelona 2-1 last month and took a point from Carlo Ancelotti in the Madrid derby in September.
While confidence is high among the players, Simeone insists his side must remain humble to ensure their winning momentum continues to develop.
“(We must) be aware of where we are, of what the team is playing for, of what we have to go through to achieve these objectives,” Simeone added.
“We don't go anywhere without humility,” Simeone added.
When asked if his side were capable of continuing their rich run of form and winning a third LaLiga title under him, Simeone played down expectations.
“That's very difficult to answer. I would have to be a magician or a visionary. We have to stay on track, and to say otherwise would be disrespectful,” Simeone said.
“To repeat what we did in the first half of the season, we will have to keep working game by game,” he said.
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