Costa unleashed under Conte

Diego Costa took centre stage with a man-of-the-match performance in Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Swansea on Super Sunday. The controversial striker is a pantomime villain who provokes opponents like few others, but does it matter when he plays like this?

In the build-up to Chelsea’s trip to the Liberty Stadium, Antonio Conte dished out some advice to Diego Costa. The striker had started the season strongly under the new head coach, but for each of his goals there had been a yellow card, and Conte was well aware that he was treading a fine line.

“I want him to play with the right passion and the right aggression,” said the Italian. “He must transfer his emotions to the pitch in the right way. Always.” Conte is not the first manager who has struggled to tame Costa – just ask Jose Mourinho – but if he continues to perform at his current level then he might be tempted to let him get on with it.

After decisive goals against West Ham and Watford in the first two games of the season, the Spain international added two more against Swansea. He opened the scoring with a clinical finish on his weaker foot in the first half, and he rescued a point for Chelsea with a brilliant overhead kick after the hosts had rather fortuitously turned a one-sided game on its head.

There was, predictably, another yellow card and an ongoing feud with his marker, Jordi Amat, which threatened to boil over, but Costa retains an unrivalled knack for staying on the pitch while pushing the rules to their limits. Indeed, it was telling that he only …

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