Chelsea Tactics and Transfers: The Alvaro Morata and Diego Costa debate
Chelsea’s draw with Arsenal was interesting for a litany of reasons other than the Blues squandering a lead with only a few minutes left.
On Wednesday night, Alvaro Morata took the field for Chelsea while the man he was bought to replace, Diego Costa, took the field for Atletico Madrid. The two played at almost the same time, in the same position for their respective clubs and it highlighted a few things. Though Alvaro Morata may be a more likable person and a better fit in Antonio Conte’s camp, he is not an exact replacement for Diego Costa.
Costa in his game for Atletico played as if he wanted to reintroduce his style to the world. It goes without saying that Costa needed to leave Chelsea. He had become too much of a nuisance and had destroyed his relationship with the manager. When Conte is in charge of so much, Costa is but one. It was a simple choice between the good of the many and the good of one individual.
However, Costa was a magnificent striker in all the ways that Morata is not, and that’s not supposed to be critical of Morata. Where Morata is technically perfect, Costa is rough around every single edge. While Morata is phenomenal in the air, Costa is not. Where Morata is a professional in terms of diet and work ethic, Costa is a party animal with a habit of showing up to pre-season mightily overweight and playing himself back into shape.
Costa, though, is a striker through and through. With the Atletico man at center-forward Chelsea would have won the match against Arsenal and he frankly would have scored a hattrick. Costa was a cold-blooded and ruthless animal in the box. One chance usually equalled one goal – it did for Atletico on Wednesday. Morata could have scored four goals at the Emirates and yet he squandered each one in a new and contrived manner.
The truth is that while Costa’s time at Chelsea was up no matter what, he is exactly what the Blues were missing on Wednesday. Morata failed to make a mark on the game except with his creative misses. Costa never failed to leave an impression, whether it be with a goal or a stud to the calf of a defender.
It is interesting that the two players are such polar opposites. Costa is a crazy man and often appears to be more interested in various forms of cannibalism than football. Morata, meanwhile, is apparently the sort of boy you want your daughter to marry.
The point is essentially that it’s important to take note of the differences between the two. The perfect striker probably exists somewhere in the middle of the two Spaniards. Morata often gets disinterested after a series of rough plays while Costa relishes it. On the other hand, Costa had a tendency to become distracted by the physical side of the game whereas Morata is a notably cerebral player.
If Morata had the fight of Costa or Costa had the brain of Morata they would each be perfect. Instead one is at Chelsea and the other is at Atletico.
Next: Chelsea player ratings as Alvaro Morata fails to punish Arsenal
What do you think of the Morata-Costa debate? Who do you prefer? Share your thoughts in the comments below!