Sporting Gijon decided to pack the midfield, leaving Mate Bilic as the lone striker up front.
Javier Aguirre, meanwhile, fielded Maniche just behind Sergio Agüero and Diego Forlan to create an impressive attacking trident.
First Half
The fans at El Molinon had barely found their seats when the home side sent them jumping in excitement as they took an early lead. A corner from Pedro found Bilic inexplicably unmarked yards out from goal, and the striker duly headed the ball in. It was typically shambolic defending from Atleti, but it would not take long for them to level matters.
Almost immediately after the kick-off, Atletico launched an attack which resulted in a sublime goal from Agüero. The Argentine chested the ball down in the area and sent an acrobatic volley flying into the corner of the net.
The chances were coming thick and fast, as was to be expected in an encounter between two sides devoted to attack, and with such porous defences. Possession was being split fairly evenly, and Bilic was making a real nuisance of himself up front, coming close on a number of occasions.
It was Atleti, however, who took the lead five minutes before the break, and the identity of the scorer came as no surprise. It was one of Agüero's easier goals, as he pounced on some poor goalkeeping by Cuéllar, who could only parry Forlán's shot from the edge of the box straight into the deadly Argentine's path.
That was the last action of the first half, as both sides entered the sheds with the promise of plenty more goals ahead.
Second Half
Atletico continued the second half intent on dominating, and with almost an hour gone, Diego Forlan increased their advantage. It was slack defending by Iván Hernández, who was robbed by the Uruguayan on the left wing and watched on helplessly as Forlan slotted the ball under Cuéllar's legs.
It seemed as though Atleti would now run away with the game, but on the hour David Barral scored a sensational goal having only been on the pitch for two minutes. A quick turn and shot was too good for Leo Franco, and the home side were back in it, much to the delight of their fans.
Sporting continued to press, but on 72 minutes, their hopes were all but extinguished when Maxi Rodriguez scored Atleti's fourth. Agüero broke free to find himself through on goal, and the striker unselfishly laid it across to his compatriot, who slotted into an empty net.
Sporting had no fight left in them and with 10 minutes to go, Forlan rubbed salt into their wounds when he was released, and made no mistake, finding himself one-on-one with Cuellar. His reward was to be taken off immediately, replaced by Ever Banega.
That was the last action of a manic encounter, one which could easily have seen yet more goals. In the end, Atletico picked up a vital win, but it was another brave performance from Sporting, who are proving that they are more than capable of competing at this level.
Sporting Gijon 2-5 Atletico Madrid
Bilic 4 Agüero 9, 41
Barral 60 Forlan 57, 81
Maxi Rodriguez 72
Sporting Gijon: Cuéllar - Sastre, Gerard (Barral 58), Hérnandez, Canella - Matabuena, Camacho - Pedro (Moran 71), Carmelo, Diego Castro - Bilic
Atletico Madrid: Leo Franco - Seitaridis, Heitinga, Ujfalusi, Pernía - Maxi Rodríguez, Assunçao, Maniche (Raul Garcia 68), Simao - Agüero (Sinama Pongolle 78), Forlán (Banega 83)
Yellow Cards: Matabuena 39, Simao 43, Seitaridis 53, Iván Hérnández 64.
Arjun Miglani, Goal.com
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