Chelsea striker Diego Costa headed a brace for Spain in their 8-0 World Cup qualifier romp over Liechtenstein. Since it’s the international break, here’s an analysis of his header prowess and recent form.
Diego Costa scored 25% of Spain’s goals in a typically inane early-stage World Cup qualifying fixture. Costa opened the scoring for Spain in the 10th minute, which was Spain’s only goal of the half. He added another in the 66th minute as Spain unleashed seven in the final 45 minutes.
Costa made way for former Chelsea transfer target Alvaro Morata in the 69th minute. Morata went on to score Spain’s sixth and seventh goals one minute apart. David Silva was the third Spaniard with a brace.
Diego Costa scored both of his goals on headers. His first came as he rose highest on a free kick (I know, right?), and the second as he nodded in his own rebound. In the competitions tracked by WhoScored going back to 2009, only 18 of Costa’s 107 goals have come off of his head.
Given Costa’s reliance on his feet for his goal-scoring prowess, last night may have been his first time scoring two headed goals in a single game. Costa has scored more than two headers in a season five times. His highest tally came in 2009/10 when he headed five of his 10 goals for Atletico Madrid.
He scored at least one brace in each season where he scored more than one headed goal, but that is where our research road hits the dead end. We are at most reasonably confident that last night was his first brace of headers.
Despite being much more prolific with his right foot, Costa’s conversion percentages are remarkably similar between his feet and his head.
| Pct of total shots | Pct of total goals | Shooting pct | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right foot | 57.9 | 55.6 | 18.5 |
| Left foot | 25.2 | 26.8 | 20.5 |
| Head | 16.8 | 17.6 | 18.8 |
Costa takes over twice as many shots with his right foot as his left foot, and three times as many than with his head. Regardless of what body part Costa uses to put the ball towards the net, about one-fifth of his attempts beat the keeper.
More remarkably – and more significantly for Chelsea – these were Costa’s first goals for Spain in nearly two years. Costa last scored against another European minnow, Luxembourg, nearly two years ago. That goal came after Costa scored nine goals in his first nine games for Chelsea, en route to 20 on the season for the Blues.
Costa now has three goals in four starts since the Premier League season began. He clearly has momentum on his side. Breaking a drought and scoring for your national team always propel a player. Costa combined the two in an unconventional way with his headed brace.
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While the international break interrupts the club’s rhythm and injects more injury risk, Costa has made the most of it. The level of the competition is less important than hitting the back of the net when it comes to breaking a duck. The Blues’ front-man is in prime position to continue his offensive streak when Chelsea faces Swansea City on Sunday.