Chelsea FC player evaluations 2015/16: Diego Costa

As we continue our 2015/16 season review, Diego Costa is the latest Chelsea FC player to come under the microscope. It was a season of two halves.

Like many of the Chelsea FC players, it’s been a season to forget for Diego Costa. We saw the good, the bad, and the ugly from the Spaniard this season and despite being Chelsea’s top goalscorer in the Premier League with 12 goals, Costa was nowhere near the player we saw in the 2014/15 season.

His first goal of the campaign came in the third game at the Hawthorns where the Blues beat West Brom 3-2. However, he didn’t score another league goal until 17th October at home to Aston Villa in which Chelsea won 2-0. He also scored his first Champions League goal in a Chelsea shirt in the 4-0 victory over Maccabi Tel-Aviv, but he was constantly found on the wing and for whatever reason just didn’t look right.

He was dropped against Tottenham in November which saw him throw a bib in the direction of Jose Mourinho in frustration as the former Blues boss had made all three subs without using him as one. Costa’s Chelsea future was looking in severe doubt at this point.

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Up until Mourinho’s departure, the Spanish international only managed to conjure up three league goals with the other against Norwich. The return of Guus Hiddink as interim manager saw Costa get back to his old self.

He was off the mark with a double against Watford in Hiddink’s first game back in charge and the goals were coming frequently. He scored six in his first seven games under the dutchman including one against London rivals Arsenal. He looked fit, fresh and sharp and was once again becoming a nuisance for defenders.

Speculation was rife about Costa’s Chelsea future with many saying he would return to Atletico Madrid but the way he was playing in the second half of the season showed no signs of a person who was thinking about a move elsewhere. He went on to score 11 goals in all competitions during Hiddink’s second spell in charge and now we look forward to seeing him under the new manager Antonio Conte.

Costa will be disappointed in missing out on the Spain squad for Euro 2016 but on the flip side he will be back to 100% fitness by the time Chelsea start their pre-season preparations ahead of the new campaign.

Next: Chelsea FC player evaluations 2015/16: Ruben Loftus-Cheek

Chelsea travel to Austria and the USA for pre-season where Conte will look to get to know his squad and prepare for the oncoming season. The Italian will be hoping that Costa is firing from all cylinders right from the off as Chelsea look to regain the Premier League title.