Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel says he'll continue switching between a back three and four.
Although he insists that performance is more important than formation to overall success, he admits the use of a back four was very much borne of necessity and improvisation.
"Any formation can win the title," he explained. "There are several reasons why we looked at different formations. First of all we knew that this formation relies heavily on the wing-backs. Our two main wing-backs who were major goal threats and in huge form and who gave huge support for our offensive play got long-term injuries. Second was almost the same situation at the same time with the centre-backs.
"Then came the moment when we played Tottenham and we thought we could maybe surprise them, because they would arrive very well prepared and also with a back five. A back five against a back five can provide a bit of a stuck situation, more or less man-marked across the whole pitch, and our game felt at this moment already a bit stiff, not the most fluid."
However, the successful way the players adapted to the new shape means it remains a useful option for Tuchel, even if he feels the difference in attacking play between the two formations is not as big as you might expect.
"The players did excellent and it's very nice to have this alternative, because the offensive shape and formation does not change too much. When we attack in a back five it's more or less a 3-2-4-1, if we play a 4-1-4-1 it's also a four and a one in attack.
"But the build-up is different, the personnel is a little bit different, the rules of where you protect are in our opinion a bit different. Not too much, but it gives you a bit of a different approach and it's nice to have because we can react to opponents' formations and maybe look for advantages within the formation."
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