Diego Simeone tailoring a tactical suit for ex-Chelsea strikers Costa and Morata

Chelsea fans rarely had the chance to see two strikers lead their line last season, even with Antonio Conte using a nominally two-striker set-up. Diego Simeone may go a step further and play a three-striker system, with two former Blues up top.

Alvaro Morata was supposed to replace Diego Costa at Chelsea. Atletico Madrid took Morata on loan last month in part to cover for Costa’s injuries and overall low output this season. Now that Morata is into the swing of things at Atletico and Costa is back from injury, Diego Simeone envisions an “and” instead of an “or” for the two ex-Chelsea men.

Costa made his first appearance since December 8, replacing Morata in the 60′ against Rayo Vallecano. Morata assisted on Antoine Griezmann’s goal earlier in the game, bringing Morata and Costa level on La Liga assists with one each.

Going forward, though, Simeone hopes to use Costa and Morata as a central striking pair, flanked by wingers Griezmann and Thomas Lemar. “I love it, but it needs time, work, extraordinary physical condition of the three. I hope that at some point we can use it with more time,” Simeone said.

For much of Antonio Conte’s two years at Chelsea, there was the expectation he was building towards a 3-5-2 with two true No. 9’s leading the line. Despite Chelsea always have at least two strikers seemingly capable of the task, Conte almost always opted for Eden Hazard as the shadow striker rather than pairing Alvaro Morata with Michy Batshuayi or Olivier Giroud.

Even for staunch Conte supporters, his refusal to play two strikers with Eden Hazard in some form of No. 10 role was a point of discontent and puzzlement. Few things went right for whichever centre-forward played, and Hazard was no happier as the shadow striker in the 3-5-2 than he is as a false-nine / centre-forward in a three-man offence. Olivier Giroud’s subsequent performance for France in the World Cup showed how much he could do in a supporting role, leaving more questions over what could have been for Conte’s Chelsea.

Diego Simeone will make a significant departure from his usual 4-4-2 formation to have Morata, Costa and Griezmann up top. Simeone’s teams are very structurally disciplined and well-drilled, so a change this significant will require deep tactical training in addition to the physical demands he mentioned. Morata is still working towards a Simeone level of match fitness and physicality, while Costa is returning from injury, so the new formation may still be some time away.

More than anything, though, Simeone is offering another example of a manager adapting his formation and tactics to the players he has. He has to play a striker alongside Antoine Griezmann: that much is indisputable. Now that he has two strikers with complementary skill sets, Simeone is challenging himself and his players to find a way for all three to be on the pitch simultaneously. The 4-4-2 is less important than getting the most out of his squad, and that means putting his three most potent offensive players together.

Since Morata and Costa never played together at Chelsea, Simeone’s experiment will be a 2014-2018 mash-up lineup for Blues fans. Given Simeone’s history of rebuilding strikers and drawing the best out of nearly every player, he may show Chelsea fans what should have been for Alvaro Morata along with what could have been in a multi-striker offence.