A difference would be only in one nested “img” element.
A few simple CSS properties may be used for both cases - here a short example (do not bother about card-mod, same could be done for an element in picture-elements card by using a native “style” option):
As for your issues with size/position - I doubt that a special “block” element will solve them. These are not “issues” - these are “I do not know how to deal with it”.
Possibly you can find some answers here. (not comprehensive but could be useful)