Jose Mourinho has claimed that Diego Costa was ‘fantastic’ in Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Arsenal
Chelsea FC took a step towards resurrecting their Premier League title defence (and challenge) after they defeated Arsenal 2-0 earlier this afternoon at Stamford Bridge. Diego Costa was involved in what is widely-regarded as the contest’s turning point when Gabriel Paulista was dismissed in a controversial incident. Jose Mourinho, though, has defended his star striker.
Costa evidently lit the torch paper in an incident that led referee Mike Dean to send off the Arsenal centre-back during first-half stoppage time. In the prelude, the Spaniard had his hands all over Laurent Koscielny’s face as they jostled for the ball, before he seemed to seemingly swung his arm at the Frenchman’s face. He then chest bumped him to the ground.
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Gabriel subsequently got involved with the striker, squaring off against him. After Dean booked both players, the defender kicked out at Costa as they carried on their spat in the midfield. Gabriel was then dismissed while Costa escaped any further sanction. The Blues boss, though, refused to criticise his player’s actions.
"If you want to speak about Diego Costa with me, it is just to say he played how he has to play and that’s why you have full stadiums and you sell to televisions around the world for millions and millions because the game has to be played like that…Fantastic Diego Costa."
You cannot fault Costa’s fight and all-round commitment to the Chelsea cause, but even the most ardent of Blues fans will admit that his actions in the Arsenal game will leave at least the slightest of bitter tastes in the mouth.
Costa should not be castigated for having his hands on Koscielny. This is part and parcel of the physical game and it is the referee’s duty to spot such misdemeanours and penalise them. Having said that, his attempt to essentially orchestrate the dismissal of an Arsenal player was borderline shameful.
I do not mind Costa being physical and trying to get under the skin of the opposition. It was the pathetic manner in which he pressured Mike Dean into showing Gabriel the red card which irks me. He is renowned for the brutal nature in which he plays the game but this afternoon he rather came away looking like a little child.
Having said that, this is the modern game. As POL writer Ayushman Basu wrote in his ‘lessons learned’ article, all this referee-crowding and theatrics is football in the 21st century. As a result, football fans should just accept it and move on.
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Unfortunately, such an argument is justified. Perhaps down the line there will be developments that will make such incidents extinct but for the moment this is the way in which football is played across the world. Such gamesmanship is now commonplace and there is not much that can be done about it until football takes its next evolutionary step.
In absolute terms, yes Diego was ‘fantastic’. He was the man who turned the game in Chelsea’s favour. The player who caused the incident that allowed the Blues to take control.
However, given that football is more of a hobby and an enjoyment rather than a religion for me, I personally feel that his ‘fantastic’ play tainted what should have been a massive win for the club.
All quotes taken from Sky Sports.
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