Diego Costa showing complacency from lack of competition for Chelsea’s starting XI
Diego Costa ended his Premier League goal-scoring mini-drought against Swansea. His minimal impact on the game, though, reflected his recent muddled form.
Diego Costa has 16 Premier League goals this season, the second-most and only one goal behind a three-way tie for first. Unlike two of the three players ahead of him – Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku – Costa’s play has become mired in recent weeks.
His last two goals – against Wolves in the FA Cup and against Swansea in the league – sum up his recent form. In both games he was a non-factor in the overall run of play. His goals came in the final minutes of play, and sealed Chelsea’s victory. Those late goals salvaged his presence in each game, making his stats sheet deceptively strong.
“He’s a striker and he’s getting goals,” Ajitesh Rasgotra said on The Blue Lions podcast. “On paper that’s good enough, but he’s getting these safety goals. Not the key goals.”
Diego Costa did little to affect the run of play in either of Chelsea’s last two games. Too often he kept his head down and missed opportunities to lay-off a pass to Eden Hazard or Pedro. He did not maintain possession to hold up play, nor did he channel his aggression into harassing the defence. Against Swansea, his frustration and aggression nearly boiled over into a yellow card for dissent in the second half.
"If you look at the Arsenal game, he didn’t score but everything he was doing off the ball was great. His runs were splitting Arsenal to pieces, and that gave space elsewhere for Hazard or Pedro to run in and put the ball in the net. He hasn’t been doing that since, though, and that’s the problem. – Travis Tyler, The Blue Lions"
Diego Costa has a level of comfort that no other Chelsea player has. Despite the training ground row last month and the rumours of a move to China, Costa has no competition for his place in the lineup.
For reasons that may forever be unknown, Antonio Conte does not trust or simply does not like Michy Batshuayi. On the few opportunities Conte had to start Batshuayi, the manager opted to play Eden Hazard as a false nine. Diego Costa knows that no matter what he does or does not do, he will continue to play barring injury or suspension.
This may be the uneasy detente between Antonio Conte and Diego Costa. If that is the case, it bodes no better for Costa’s future with the club than Batshuayi’s. Having a protected player – as Chelsea learned all too well last season – smacks of player power. It also removes any incentive for that player to improve.
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Antonio Conte will not tolerate either of those elements. If Conte feels that he is tethered to Diego Costa, he will jettison Costa at the first opportunity. Particularly when Conte has players like Cesc Fabregas inspiring the rest of the club to earn every minute of playing time, he will not and cannot allow Diego Costa to set an example of entitlement.