Diego Costa’s attitude becoming a worry for Chelsea boss Antonio Conte
The difference between Chelsea and second placed Tottenham remained at four points after the Blues lost to Manchester United on Sunday. (Source: Reuters) The difference between Chelsea and second placed Tottenham remained at four points after the Blues lost to Manchester United on Sunday. (Source: Reuters)
In a interview to The Guardian last week, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte was asked regarding Diego Costa’s deteriorating form. In answer to the question, “So what does he offer the team when goals are proving elusive?”, the Italian manager replied, “His character. His personality. That’s very important for us and the team.”
In the crucial encounter against Manchester United on Sunday, Costa’s character- or lack of it- was one of the biggest downfalls for The Blues. The Spaniard, who is known to get easily frustrated, often losing cool and indulging in on-field antics, was much of himself against a spirited United. With team regulars, goalkeepers Thibaut Courtouis and left-back Marcus Alonso missing, the side needed Costa to be in his goal-scoring best. But it seemed he only cared about his on-field tussle with Manchester United defender Marcus Rojo, rather than trying to put the ball in the back of the net.
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It all went according to Jose Mourinho’s plan. Seeing how much Rojo had frustrated the Spanish forward during their FA cup tie, this is precisely what Mourinho would have wanted his central defender to do. As soon as Costa ‘pushed’ Eric Bailly dangerously close towards the goal post, it was Rojo who went face-to-face with Costa. The two later on in the first half, entangled with each other, carried out soft blows, and embarrassed themselves by pretending injuries and calling on referee to take action.
The plan worked for Manchester United. Chelsea had no shots on target in the game and made zero passes inside Manchester United’s box. Costa, on the other hand, was too busy, trying to win his battle against Rojo, and was lucky to not be sent off after he made a rash late challenge on Paul Pogba.
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No wonder Mourinho was all motivated after the match, showing his loyalty towards Manchester United by pointing at the club’s crest on his jacket and declaring himself the “Judas”. It was his brilliant mind that had worked on the field. On being asked what impressed him the most in his victory against Chelsea, the self-congratulating manager did not shy away from saying he was most impressed by himself. “The convincement (sic) that we were tactically very good. The players did an amazing job and totally controlled a team full of fantastic players,” he further said.
Time for Costa to bid Chelsea a farewell?
Costa has not looked his best since reports of his association with Chinese Super League team Tianjin Quanjian started doing the rounds in January this year. Costa reportedly had a scuffle with a trainer, following the rumours that the club was willing to pay £30 million-a-year net to lure him, after which Costa missed training sessions and was ruled out of the next fixture by Conte.
Even with 22-goals this season, the Spaniard has looked out of sorts in recent months and is struggling to get the same momentum he had in the first half of the season. In a recent interview, he agreed that he was trying a move back to Atletico Madrid, because of unfair treatment by English referees.
On the other hand, his fellow team-mate Courtouis said in an interview that Chelsea’s “bad boy” has a knack of exaggerating fouls. “In some moments maybe Diego exaggerates a bit as well, but I think most of the time they were hitting him quite well… he gets a bit angry and gets a yellow card. So it’s important for him to stay calm and he’s developed that a lot this season,” the Belgian said.
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But in spite of several attempts by Costa to clean up his act, troubles continue to find him. He was caught smashing an untimely challenge at Vincent Kompany’s knees during the clash against Manchester City earlier this month. Luckily for him, referee Mike Dean did not see much danger in the tackle and refused further action.
But Costa’s knack of losing sight of the game continues to hurt Chelsea, time and again. The defeat against Manchester United has given Maurico Pochhetino’s Tottenham Hotspurs the golden chance to steal the trophy from Conte. If Chelsea slips up now, perhaps Costa losing focus at Old Trafford would be considered as the defining moment where The Pensioners slipped up.
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“When you are in this moment of the season and there are two great teams playing for the title, there are nerves. But there is always a winner and a loser and both must accept the final result and show respect,” Conte said in an interview last week. But time will time how much respect will the Italian manager will show Diego Costa after the debacle at Old Trafford.
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