Chelsea’s Diego Costa has enjoyed a fine debut season since his move from Atletico Madrid in the summer, but the Brazilian-born Spanish international has gone off the boil in the last few weeks. His last goal came in the middle of January, which means he’s set to be without a league goal for over a month.
Its’ the first time this season that Costa has failed to score each month, but what does it mean? Is he feeling pressure of a long Premier League campaign? Is he starting to become distracted from the headlines about his playing style? Or is his form starting to dip?
The 26-year-old was reported to have injury problems all through the season that limited game time, but he has since overcome them to play an important role in their title and Champions League aspirations.
But things have gone a little stale in recent weeks, and Costa has been putting in below-par performances by his standards. He has, however, bagged 17 goals in 20 Premier League games for Chelsea, so he’s certainly paid back his £32M transfer fee. But at a time where manager Jose Mourinho is going to need him the most, the striker is currently off the boil.
Chelsea face Tottenham Hotspur in the Capital One Cup final on Sunday, and the Blues are already without influential combative midfielder Nemanja Matic. They can’t have an out-of-form Costa spearheading the attack, as many people are backing Tottenham to repeat their victory over the Premier League leaders from New Year’s.
Costa’s mini slump could perhaps be attributed to the games played. He’s featured in all but one of Chelsea’s Champions League outings this season, while playing in 20 of 26 league games. The 26-year-old will be in need for a timely rest, but he’s forced to continue in attack at a time where the games will come thick and fast, and in abundance.
Teams are all fighting to achieve their own objectives, and are becoming wise to Costa’s strengths and weaknesses on the pitch, so it’s perhaps not too surprising he’s gone quiet. It’s certainly been overdue this season, given how quickly he adapted to the Premier League. So is this dip in for anything to worry about for the former Atletico man? He’s been afforded an extended rest ahead of the Capital One Cup final this weekend, so could that see him get his scoring boots back?
