Antonio Conte’s Chelsea may be struggling to find momentum, but the troublesome yet efficient Diego Costa has continuously attempted to spark some life into the side.
As Diego Costa curled in a right-footed effort in the 67th minute at the KC Stadium last Saturday, what followed was a delightfully familiar sight this season for Chelsea. Costa running, arms aloft, to the Blues faithful in the away end, jumping for joy and pumping his chest.
The Spanish international thrives on these sort of adrenaline rushes, and seeing the Chelsea supporters celebrate in front of him will have only increased the satisfying feeling of sealing the win for his side.
In what has been a difficult start to the campaign for Antonio Conte and his players, the victory at Hull broke a winless streak of three league games. Costa, though, has continuously performed to the best of his abilities. Six goals so far this year, four of which have come away from home, is the sort of return that Chelsea need from their star striker.
There’s a complaint that the club are lacking leaders in the starting eleven since the departures of Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba and Petr Cech, but it’s a trait that Costa holds in abundance.
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There has only been one occasion so far this year in which Costa finding the back of the net hasn’t led to Chelsea picking up at least a point. His strike versus Liverpool, to bring his team back in the game as they found themselves 2-0 down, is the lone blip in the impressive resume.
Goals against West Ham, Watford and, of course, Hull have yielded three points while a double at Swansea ensured at least a draw. There’s more responsibility for Costa to lead from the front, due to his position on the pitch, and it’s evident that his positive fighting attitude has had a strong effect on his teammates.
If Costa’s not scoring, however, he is still looking for ways to help the team. He presses, and more often than not, demands a similar work rate from those playing just behind him in Willian and Eden Hazard.
With so much focus placed on ball-playing defenders and keeping possession in the first third of the pitch, attacking players have been forced to increase the hassling and harrying of the opposition. When Chelsea do have the ball, he’s tried opening himself up or running off the shoulder of the last defender to give the ball carrier a passing option.
This time last season, the forward looked uninspired, sluggish and out of shape. As the club were undergoing a disastrous few months which would eventually spell the end of Jose Mourinho’s second reign at the club, Costa was one of a few players who were singled out as refusing to give 100 percent for his manager.
It wasn’t until late December that Costa reached 6 goals for the year, an aim that he has been able to achieve in just seven outings this time around. Whatever the feeling regarding his under-performance during Mourinho’s last days, there is no doubt that the 27-year-old is once again one of the league’s finest goal scorers.
The lack of discipline still remains a problem, especially given that another booking will see Costa be suspended for a game. The Blues are already lacking players willing to take on the responsibility of leading the club, so the striker’s absence would be a miss that Conte simply cannot afford right now.
A brutal schedule awaits a team that needs all the help it can get, with matches against champions Leicester, Manchester United, Tottenham, Southampton, Everton and Manchester City all coming up over the next couple of months. If Chelsea are to continue the winning momentum they picked up at the weekend, they will need more of the squad to follow the example being set for them by their talisman.