Chelsea have been very impressive in their defensive duties recently. In the past two fixtures they’ve held Atletico Madrid to a 0-0 draw last week and then kept another cleansheet as they defeated Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield on Sunday.

Now the stubborn Chelsea defence face up against Diego Simeone’s Atletico again in their second leg of the Champions League semi-final tie. That means trying to keep out Diego Costa again.

The Atletico frontman has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge all season and what better way to convince potential suitors than beating them?

He showed on a few occasions last week that he’s certainly capable of getting under the skin of the Chelsea defenders and needs to be carefully watched.

A big part of Costa’s play is his gamesmanship. He irritates his opposite numbers with barging, fouling and just by constantly getting in their faces and being a huge pain in the backside!

The Spanish international has been bang inform this season scoring thirty-four goals in forty appearances. His wide variety of goals has also highly impressive this campaign.

Of course John Terry, Gary Cahill and co deserve a lot of credit for handling him last week and keeping him as quiet as possible. But this is a new game and they will again have to be fully aware of Costa for the full ninety minutes and possibly even longer if the match goes into extra time.

The Chelsea defence were strong and stood up to Diego Costa, it worked but they need to beware that if they get too close and he gets touch tight, then he may spin them and get a shot off.

Also don’t forget that at home Chelsea also need to think about getting a goal themselves if they’re to get through without the need for penalties. That could mean that they may need to push further forward. That too could be dangerous, as Costa has a bit of pace as well as strength, so he is capable of getting away from defenders and shrugging off their challenges.

The Brazilian born striker is keen on first times finishes, keeping his shots low, scoring with either foot and drilling attempts into the corners. The accuracy of those efforts and the quickness of getting those strikes off mean that keepers have little chance of stopping them hitting the back of the net. He’s also not shy when it comes to being creative with his chances, just think back to those overhead kicks in last weeks first leg.

The Chelsea defenders can’t get too engrossed in their battles with the aggressive Costa, as they could then forget about the likes of Koke, Raul Garcia and possibly David Villa who are all dangerous in their own right.

Diego Costa has grabbed eights goals in his last ten outings but he hasn’t got any in his last two. So the ‘Blues’ will hope that he is in the middle of a barren spell and that they can keep him out for a third game on the trot.

Chelsea will know all about the Spaniard’s qualities, that’s why they are interested in possibly parting with £4om-£50m in getting the hitman to the Bridge this summer. Jose Mourinho will makes sure that his side know they can’t switch off, even for a second as Costa can be deadly and end their Champions League ambitions.

Posted on April 30th, 2014 by scott
Filed under: Article