Reflections On Chelsea FC’s Draw Away To Dynamo Kyiv
Diego Costa’s Strengths
For all the praise that Mourinho manages to shower on his star forward, Diego Costa, it is starting to become evident (at least to me) that he actually doesn’t know what the Spanish forward’s real strengths are! The Chelsea boss has persisted in using Costa alone upfront largely in the role of a target man, expected to win headers and hold up the ball for the supporting midfield trio behind him.
But Tuesday’s game made it even more obvious that he is not suited for such a role. In his 90+ minutes on the pitch, Costa did not win a single header, neither did he manage to take a single shot at goal! He was bested in the air by Yevhen Khacheridi and Aleksandar Dragovic for the duration of the game and even when he managed to hold up the ball, he was always too far away from goal to cause any problems whatsoever.
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Costa is a pure goal poacher, which is clearly proven by the fact that all his goals for the Blues have come inside the 18-yard box. In spite of his impressive physical attributes (strength and pace), work rate (energetic pressing), passion and uncanny eye for goal, Diego Costa is technically deficient.
He has a terrible first touch, his ball control is awry most times and he cannot dribble past opposing players even if his life depended on it. He doesn’t have the technical brilliance to fashion out chances for himself like Sergio Aguero, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and the like but rather needs service from other players. And when he fails to get the service, like on Tuesday, he becomes more of a liability than an asset.
Mourinho’s obsession with defensive stability over attacking flair makes the need for a target man in the mold of Didier Drogba a priority, but Diego Costa is definitely not that man. It is quite unfortunate that he managed to let go of the one player who would have handled the role to perfection…Romelu Lukaku!
Next: Mourinho's European Away Day Negativity