Diego Costa takes a swipe at Antonio Conte after receiving a standing ovation from Chelsea fans during Wolves’ defeat on Saturday.
Costa made his return to his former club at Stamford Bridge as he made his first start for Wolves, who the Spaniard joined last month.
The forward scored 59 goals in 120 games for the Blues across three seasons, while he also won two Premier League titles with the club.
However, he left in 2017 in bitter circumstances, returning to Atletico Madrid after falling out with the west London side’s then-boss Conte.
View this post on Instagram
During Saturday’s game saw him get a standing ovation from the Chelsea fans when he was substituted in the second half, making his way the long way around the pitch and in front of the home fans.
Reflecting on that moment after the game, Costa couldn’t resist throwing a dig at his former manager.
‘I’ve never had a problem with the fans,’ he told reporters after the game.
‘My problem was not with the crowd, it was with that coach. I left in bad terms with that manager, I left a champion for the second time, and he didn’t count on me.
‘That was nothing I could do. I had to leave. Today showed that I did not leave on bad terms with the fans.
‘It’s very special. It’s the feeling that in the time that you spent here, you did good work and left good memories.
‘Chelsea fans always treated me very well. I was always surprised by the way they treated me. It’s satisfying.’
Diego Costa agradece o carinho da torcida do Chelsea após ser ovacionado no retorno ao Stamford Bridge.
E lembra; “meu problema não foi com a torcida, foi com aquele treinador”#PremierLeagueNaESPN pic.twitter.com/Sjcf0NGxpA— Joao Castelo-Branco (@j_castelobranco) October 8, 2022
Costa was fan favourite under Jose Mourinho, but as soon as Antonio Conte took the helm things turned sour.
The Telegraph claim that former owner Roman Abramovich intervened to stop the star from leaving the club before he eventually went on strike.
The Russian oligarch had fears that Costa’s exit would derail their 2017 title-winning season – which was the last time the club were champions.
Costa’s head was turned in so much in January by a big-money move to the Far East – leading to a huge row between him and his then manager Conte.
Conte then dropped him from a 3-0 victory at Leicester City and told him to train alone after allegedly screaming at him: “Go to China.”
But this fresh report claims that Abramovich “acted fast” by “calling a meeting between himself, Conte, former director Marina Granovskaia and former technical director Michael Emenalo” as he demanded Costa would not be sold.
He advised everyone in attendance to “find a way of seeing the season out with him and to revisit the situation” at the end of the season.
Costa returned to action to finish the season with 20 goals and title glory.
However, Conte then took it upon himself to end the fan favourite’s time at Chelsea via text message. The now-Tottenham manager, who was sacked by the Blues 12 months later, sent a 27-word message that read: “Hi Diego, I hope you are well. Thanks for the seasono [sic] we spent together. Good luck for the next year but you are not in my plan.”
This led to Costa going on strike and returning to South America. He refused to return to Chelsea but regularly posted updates from Brazil onto his social media accounts.
Eventually, a deal was done for Costa to leave Chelsea to rejoin Atletico Madrid that September. The exit meant he never got the opportunity to say farewell to the Blues faithful that loved him so much – but this weekend he finally gets the chance five years after his explosive departure.
When Costa was brought off on Saturday afternoon, Chelsea fans started singing the 34-year-old’s name, and he walked around the perimeter of the pitch, a route which took him right in front of the diehard Chelsea fans in the Matthew Harding Stand.
The hosts beat Costa’s new club 3-0 following goals from Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic and Armando Broja.
Player ratings
Chelsea: Kepa (7), Azpilicueta (7), Chalobah (7), Koulibaly (7), Cucurella (7), Jorginho (7), Mount (8), Gallagher (8), Loftus-Cheek (7), Havertz (8), Pulisic (7).
Subs: Kovacic (7), Broja (8), James (6), Ziyech (N/A), Chukwuemeka (N/A).
Wolves: Sa (7), Semedo (5), Kilman (5), Toti (5), Jonny (5), Nunes (6), Moutinho (7), Traore (6), Guedes (6), Podence (5), Costa (6).
Subs: Hodge (6), Hwang (6), Ait-Nouri (6), Campbell (6).
Player of the match: Mason Mount (Chelsea).
Chelsea boss Graham Potter: “It wasn’t easy. They never are in the Premier League, especially when we played on Wednesday.
“To recover and prepare isn’t straightforward but we have a committed group that are fighting for each other.
“We were disappointed not to score earlier than we did.
“Wolves started the second half well but maybe the second goal was the breathing space we needed and then for Armando to finish it off its great for us.
“We can’t succeed with just 11 players.
“And we can’t go with 11 until they fall down then play the next ones, that won’t be good for the group dynamic.
“The group is pushing for each other and it’s important everyone knows we can’t just deal with 11.
“It’s important we have a strong group, a strong collective. It’s difficult to achieve anything without that.”
🗣️ “It’s difficult with the schedule to keep the same eleven on the pitch. It’s impossible.”
Chelsea boss Graham Potter on making changes before their 3-0 win over Wolves. pic.twitter.com/zMbGRgcaBl
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) October 8, 2022
Wolves interim boss Steve Davis: “We knew it was going to be a tough game with the injuries and suspensions we had.
“We rode our luck in the first half with some of the goalmouth scrambles but if we’d gone in 0-0 who knows.
“When were on top we had to get some opportunities on goal and take some chances. There were not enough people in the box taking risks.
“The mood was difficult, as you’d expect [at the start of the week].
“We’ve had a great week’s training, the mood’s been good, we lifted it.
“We kept going, we worked hard and got the minutes into the lads we wanted. I’ve been positive in the dressing room after – and that’s key, we have to remain positive.”
This is how Twitter users reacted as Diego Costa takes swipe at Antonio Conte after receiving a standing ovation from Chelsea fans…
@benard_kitha: He’s the last prolific striker we’ve had since drogba left
@tonyezalmon: Reason he was very cold throughout the game, he loves Chelsea and we love him 💙
@ThegentlePaul: Can’t wait for his hattrick against spurs
@cfczack2131: Wolves vrs Spurs will be one hell of a game 😂
@CFCDaily: Thing is we could have just let him go in Jan and we still would have won it imo. He scored something like a handful at best. Especially when he went in the summer
@SignEveryone: Costa was one of the main reasons why Chelsea won the title that season, He outperformed XG and made Conte look like Pep..
@Cfcpuli2: Conte is horrible
@_____georgeee: The scenes when he sprints past conte after a 90th min winner vs spuds will be iconic.
@spairog: That’s Conte for you toxicity personified.
@cfcjoet: We loved you. We just had a bad daddy
@Benjamin_dw: Conte was such a dickhead for his handling of Costa
@tomnewey1984: I’ve still never forgiven conte for driving Diego out and replacing him with Morata. Criminal.
@Stannycfc: Costa drove himself out, Tried to leave the club after his first season and then after his second, Conte convinced him to stay then in January third season tries to leave for China, Conte says no and Costa spits the dummy. Lets not change facts there
You must be logged in to post a comment Login