Chelsea brushed away concerns over any potential sale of Diego Costa with an emphatic 3-0 win over Leicester City. But just how much did the win really prove?
Chelsea might be in the headlines for the potential loss of Diego Costa right now. But the Blues are also in the headlines after an impressive 3-0 win – minus Costa – over struggling Premier League champions Leicester City.
With the news of Costa’s apparent desire to leave Stamford Bridge this January, many questioned whether Chelsea could maintain their form to finish the job they have started. The game against Leicester went some way to answering some of those doubts.
Wing back Marcos Alonso scored two goals and Spaniard Pedro finished off the win with the third and final goal. The performance was emphatic and, in many ways, looked to be an act of defiance from a Chelsea team that screamed that they are not a one-man show.
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However, it was just one game. The doubts over Chelsea potentially having to continue without Costa are based on the fact that there are still 17 games to go. And also the fact that it would be difficult to find an adequate replacement in January – a notoriously difficult transfer window to sign players in.
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Leicester are struggling themselves also. The Foxes might have the tag of champions but their performances do not resemble such right now. Essentially, Chelsea beat a struggling relegation candidate. A relegation candidate with their best player, Riyad Mahrez, absent.
The Blues’ front three in the game was made up of Pedro, Eden Hazard and Willian. Could that trio possibly score the goals necessary to drag Chelsea across the finish line? Over 17 games, not just one? It’s still an open question.
Marcos Alonso is not about to score two goals every game. Although, in the absence of a true goalscorer like Costa, it could be argued that the team need to share the goals around more. Chelsea definitely did that with Alonso and Pedro being the match-winners.
But the motivation the team likely had cannot be ignored either. It was surely easy for Antonio Conte to fire up his men. To motivate them to show that they are not a one-man team. They did exactly that. Very well, too. For one game.
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Maybe Chelsea can get by. Maybe this is just a taste of how the Blues can work as a unit moving forward. Hey, maybe Costa and Chelsea find some common ground and the Brazilian at least stays at the club until the summer.
But if Costa does leave, it will take more than one game to show Chelsea can go on as normal without their star striker.