Diego Costa and Pedro sparred on the pitch at White Hart Lane after a miscommunication about a pass play. Costa chalked it up to the usual flow of things between two guys who spend a lot of time together.
Chelsea already looked wobbly by the time a pass sequence between Diego Costa and Pedro amounted to nothing. As Costa berated Pedro and Pedro gave it to him right back, despite the score being 0-0 at the time, Chelsea fans knew it might be a long night.
For most of the game, Costa looked on the verge of regressing to the pre-Conte version of himself. His aggravation boiled over several times in response to Chelsea’s offense not clicking, and from Tottenham’s repeated hacking and fouling. Costa seemed more likely to vent his temper in a way that would earn him a yellow card than a goal.
After the game, Costa reassured everyone that Chelsea’s hard-earned team cohesion is as strong as ever.
"We have a great understanding with each other. When you have a trusted relationship and intimacy with a teammate it is normal for these things to happen. It was just a moment during the game, and that’s it. It was nothing. I told him: ‘You have to get in there, why didn’t you go?’ He said ‘I went’ and I said he didn’t. That’s it. Pedro is my brother and we love each other. – IBTimes"
Diego Costa and Pedro have spent plenty of time together between Chelsea and the Spanish national team. If they did not know each other so well, Costa would have little reason to get upset that Pedro did not read the play he attempted.
And full credit to Pedro for standing his ground. An angry Diego Costa shouting and gesticulating as he comes towards you has to be among the more terrifying moments out there.
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The two Spaniards have been a major part of Chelsea’s success. Costa has 14 goals and Pedro has four, and each have five assists. Pedro secured for himself the right wing spot in the starting XI. His interplay Victor Moses and even Eden Hazard on the opposite flank opens up scoring opportunities for Costa.
None of that came off against Tottenham, and the frustrations strained the team across the entire match. The emotions and passion were always going to run high. Unfortunately, fate took them in the wrong direction.
Diego Costa’s controlled aggression under Antonio Conte has been one of the season’s biggest turnaround success stories. The downside is that Costa now operates under a microscope. Any negativity he shows will be magnified by the fear that he is reverting to last year’s less disciplined and less productive form.
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Costa, Pedro and Conte all want to win. Conte has shown Chelsea how to be a team on and off the pitch. Brothers fight, it happens and they move on. Let’s just hope Chelsea FC does not feel obliged to post an Instagram story of Costa and Pedro bro-hugging it out.