Antonio Conte confirmed what was obvious to many for the second half of Chelsea’s season: Diego Costa’s fate with the club was sealed in January.
While Diego Costa is partying somewhere in Brazil wearing an Atletico Madrid jersey, his nominal club are in pre-season training. In his first pre-match press conference of the pre-season, Antonio Conte acknowledged that Costa is at the end of a road that started in January amid rumours of a transfer to China.
The friction between player, manager and club was apparent in Costa’s disinterest on the pitch. Diego Costa reverted to his worst tendencies, giving up on the play in the hopes of drawing fouls and yellow cards. His flopping, flailing and subsequent complaining earned him more bookings than he drew. Costa received six yellow cards in his final 14 appearances, after entering the book just five times in his first 34 appearances.
In that second half, Costa also had goal droughts of three and four league games. The four game goalless streak was one of the longest of his career. He broke out of that slump with one of his best performances of the season against Southampton, where he notched two goals and an assist. However, this highlighted that he could be his best self if he chose to, and he simply chose otherwise.
"The only thing I can tell you is that in January the Costa situation was very clear for the club, for him and his agent. For me the situation is closed. – Evening Standard"
Antonio Conte’s comments raise one major question: If Costa’s “situation was very clear” in January, why did Conte keep the Spaniard in the lineup? Diego Costa was an important part of Chelsea’s last two Premier League titles, but he was by no means essential. Costa’s second-half output was significantly less impactful on the outcome of games than in the first half.
Costa’s behaviour on the pitch surely frustrated his teammates, who saw numerous counter-attacks and offensive opportunities wasted as Costa went to ground. He was probably equally popular and productive in training.
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So why did Michy Batshuayi have to wait until April 1 to play more than 10 minutes in a Premier League game? Why did he not start in the league until the dead rubber against Watford?
Batshuayi had as much reason as anybody this side of Cesc Fabregas to be disgruntled on the bench. But that is not who he is. He kept up his impossibly high spirits. And, when finally given his chance, scored four goals in three games, including the title-clincher against West Brom.
Antonio Conte’s decision to keep Costa in the lineup throughout the second half of the season remains one of his more baffling decisions. Perhaps keeping Costa in the starting XI was the best way to contain his toxic attitude. For whatever Costa may do on the pitch, perhaps he could do much worse for squad morale if he was on the bench.
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Conte may simply have been extremely pragmatic, both in terms of the title chase and his own job. Knowing Chelsea’s way with managers, Conte may have felt that benching Costa would be a step too far for Roman Abramovich and the board. Particularly if he sidelined Costa and then Chelsea fell out of first place, Conte may have found himself in jeopardy as the club once again backed players over the manager.
Regardless of the reasons, Conte will surely not allow a situation like this to develop again. Conte did a remarkable job squashing the era of player power he inherited from Jose Mourinho. He prevented a resurgence of that from spreading outward from Diego Costa.
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The lesson to other players is not that Costa continued to play throughout the second half. They should note how quickly Antonio Conte sent him on his way after the whistle blew on the season.