Diego Costa Fires Chelsea Past Liverpool

Diego Costa – Flickr Creative Commons

Chelsea striker Diego Costa smashed a loose ball home to give the Blues a 2-1 lead over Liverpool at Anfield. Mourinho’s men would hold firm till the end, leaving the Merseyside with all three points, and continuing their unbeaten streak.

The Blues look unstoppable this season, they haven’t lost a game since their defeat to Atletico madrid in the semi-finals of the Champions League last campaign — one of the main reasons is Diego Costa (ironically, one of the reasons for that last defeat).

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The striker has now scored 10 goals in nine outings for the Blues, and he doesn’t seem like he will be slowing down any time soon. The only player to reach double figures in fewer games is Mick Quinn.

After missing four games due to injury, Costa has announced his return quite loudly. He worked hard against Liverpool today, chasing down every ball, and making life miserable for Martin Skrtel. Costa ensured that defender knew he was around with a strong foul early in the first half, when he knocked him to the ground.

The striker seemed keen to continue the feud which began during Spain’s last meeting with Slovakia, as he harried Skrtel throughout the match. It was good to see a center forward and central defender go at each other with such physicality, but Costa should be careful — he will not get away with it every game.

Mourinho’s patience surely looks to be paying off, he opted to wait till this season to bring the striker in, and he hasn’t been disappointed at all. Chelsea certainly have a lethal scorer in their ranks this season; after putting up with Fernando Torres for so long, the Blues finally have a world-class forward — not taking anything away from Didier Drogba.

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While Chelsea boast other star players, Costa has been the difference maker for most of this season. He has only failed to score against Manchester City and QPR, all other sides have felt his wrath. He is quickly becoming one of the most feared men in the league, and he is enjoying it.

After going down 1-0 to an Emre Can goal in the ninth minute, the Blues took it up a gear. Defender Gary Cahill put Chelsea back on level terms five minutes later when he pounced on a loose ball. Simon Mignolet did his best to keep it out and it appeared like he had done so, but thanks to the newly-implemented goal-line technology, the goal stood.

It was all Chelsea from there on out, Eden Hazard came close to scoring on three occasions, but frustratingly, Glenn Johnson got in the way twice, and Mignolet made a save on the third attempt.

Chelsea broke the deadlock in the 67th minute when Costa hit a powerful shot past Mignolet after a loose ball fell kindly to him. Chelsea decided to sit back and let Liverpool attack them, they defended well till the end, securing a well-deserved victory.

I really hate seeing teams go ahead and then park the bus, this approach has cost Chelsea a few points in the past — most recently against Manchester United. But I guess Mourinho knows best, that’s why he is Chelsea manager and not Jamie Redknapp.