Oh, Diego Costa – just when it looked like he’d finally changed.
The more controversial elements of the striker’s personality seem to have been rearing their head again in recent weeks.
The Spaniard was involved in numerous tussles with Marcos Rojo in Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Manchester United in the FA Cup on Monday.
Against Stoke, he was at it again.
Costa was booked early on after fouling Bruno Martins Indi and could well have been sent off as he continued to niggle at Potters’ players throughout.
Antonio Conte is not one to throw his players under the bus, though.
When asked what he thought of the 28-year-old’s behaviour in his post-match press conference, he instead defended him and insisted he was delighted with his attitude.
“Diego I think played very well and also he showed me great discipline because it’s not easy to start the game and receive a yellow card,” he said.
“Diego is showing me great behaviours, a great will to fight for the team. I want to continue this way and I think he is a really good player.”
Costa failed to get on the scoresheet for the second game in succession, just when it looked as if he was enjoying something of a revival.
Whatever Conte says, he must take the player’s attitude into account when he makes a decision on whether to cash in on him this summer, with the Chinese Super League ready to accomodate him.
Watch the whole video of Conte’s post-match comments below:
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