Atletico Strikers Must Translate Champions League Form to La Liga Title Defence

It was never going to be an easy task of replacing Diego Costa; the Brazil-born frontman hit 27 league goals for Atletico Madrid last term.

The Chelsea forward is loving life in the Premier League, with nine goals in eight appearances.

"He's at an age where he can continue to improve, so let's hope he can develop further," said Atletico boss Diego Simeone on the news that the striker was departing the Vicente Calderon, via The  Daily Mail.

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I'm sure he'll be a success. I'm always going to be thankful to the players that give all their best. He had excellent performances while he was with us.

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This form has yet to be translated internationally, however, with the adoptive Spaniard struggling tactically for La Roja.

"Spain were used to playing at one rhythm and one pace, while Costa offers other characteristics," explains Simeone in his column for Sony.

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If you don’t take advantage of Costa’s runs, you isolate him. He likes to exploit the spaces, to attack from deep positions and to get on the end of final passes, but Spain’s football focuses more on the collective.

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The reverse could be said of his replacement for Atleti, Mario Mandzukic.

He's certainly a top-level striker, and his aerial ability is on par with, if not better than Costa's, but the Croatian doesn't press as enthusiastically.

Mandzukic isn't as comfortable working the channels and creating space for his fellow attackers to counter either. He prefers receiving the ball to his feet in central areas or to his head inside the box.

On his home debut in La Liga, he received the ball just six times in 67 minutes, but he still scored from a header, via FourFourTwo Stats Zone.

With David Villa, Adrian Lopez and Leo Baptistao also leaving the champions in the summer, it wasn't just one striker who would need to adapt to Simeone's methods.

Raul Jimenez, Alessio Cerci and Antoine Griezmann all arrived with the joint responsibility of providing the goals for Atletico's title defence.

The latter two are more wingers than natural strikers, but they can operate in the central position if required.

Atletico's new forwards have a combined total of three goals in eight league matches.

They haven't faced the same problems in the Champions League, though, scoring five goals between them in three games.

With Jimenez arriving from Mexico, Cerci from Italy and Mandzukic from Germany, there are certainly adaptation issues with the country and league.

It will also take the players time to adjust to Simeone's preferred style, a process that hasn't been helped by injuries and rotation.

Simeone has used four different strike partnerships in the league since the start of the campaign, with Mandzukic leading the line on his own against Valencia, Sevilla and Eibar.

Attacking midfielder Raul Garcia has also appeared as part of the strike force, but the former Osasuna player is far more comfortable when he can arrive late into the penalty area.

Los Rojiblancos are struggling to create goals from open play and are relying heavily on set pieces to breach opposition defences.

This is highlighted by the fact that centre-back Miranda is currently the club's leading scorer in the Primera Division with three goals.

Simeone will be hoping that the five-star performance against Malmo in Europe can be a springboard to a better attack domestically.

"Griezmann was anxious to score, like any other forward," the Argentine said after the match, via UEFA.com.

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He did a good job and is now closer to the player we need and the player he actually is. [Alessio] Cerci could play as a striker because he causes problems for opponents and that is the reason he played in this position tonight.

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There's no lack of options for Simeone, although choosing the right combination will be key to their future success.