Chelsea returned to winning ways on Saturday afternoon, dispatching Premier League champions Leicester City to the tune of three goals. What turmoil?
What’s all the fuss about Diego Costa? Chelsea were faced with yet another hurdle to overcome on Saturday afternoon and they did so with aplomb. With the tabloids reporting a major bust-up between Costa, Antonio Conte and other coaching staff, the players carried on with their jobs and delivered a confident victory.
As news broke on Friday of an altercation between Chelsea’s leading scorer and his manager, the club’s rivals perked up. Could this be the incident that would derail the blue ship and send it tanking down the table?
No.
Despite the media’s best efforts to create drama and controversy, the players were unaffected. Yes, Costa was not in the matchday squad, but that simply created an opportunity to prove that Chelsea don’t need him.
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The last time Costa was missing from a league game, the Blues put three past Bournemouth. They matched that performance at the King Power Stadium and silenced the persistent doubters in the process.
Throughout the Blues’ ascent to the top of the table, there were many people who failed to recognise their threat. Chelsea were on a run that would come to an end, after which Liverpool and Manchester City would resume their fight for the title.
However, Conte’s men refused to roll over, mixing up stylish wins with gritty ones and victories that saw them come from behind. Tottenham then ended their 13-game winning streak in the New Year and this Costa controversy could have sent the Blues reeling.
Chelsea, though, blocked out all the nonsense populating the back pages and carried on as normal. Conte again went with a front three of Eden Hazard, Pedro and Willian, but it was Marcos Alonso who would literally step out of left field to shine.
The full-back grabbed two goals while Pedro added a third to extend Chelsea’s lead ahead of Sunday’s Merseyside-Manchester showdowns. The first Costa-less win could have been chalked up to a good day, but doing so away at Leicester proved that the squad mentality is strong.
There is no doubt that the Blues are much stronger with the striker in their team and hopefully this situation will be resolved swiftly. However, should that not be the case, Chelsea’s title challenge will continue with little disruption.