Blend of good, bad in Chelsea’s Costa

LONDON: When football historians tell the story of the hurricane that battered England in the form of Chelsea forward Diego Costa, they might pinpoint this week as the moment when admiration started to sour into disdain.

By stamping on the ankle of Liverpool’s Emre Can, Costa took ownership of the Premier League’s unofficial title of No. 1 Bad Boy that Luis Suarez vacated when he started afresh with Barcelona this season. As Suarez showed in three-plus years of thick and thin at Liverpool, when he was both adored and pilloried, often rightly so, a bad reputation can become a heavy load to bear, for both a player and his team. Life both on and off the pitch will change - by how much will depend partly on his behavior going forward - for Costa when he returns in two weeks from the three-match ban handed down Friday that will keep the Premier League top scorer from one of the pivotal games this season: Chelsea against title rival Manchester City on Saturday.

Having seen how the Brazil-born, street-hardened striker pulled the wool over the eyes of their colleague Michael Oliver, who missed the stamp that cameras caught, referees will be even more acutely aware that Costa needs watching.

More than ever, the scrutiny will be not on the beauty of his football, but on his ugly tricks and brittle temperament, too. To try to make his self-destructive impulses boil again, opposing fans and players can be counted on to give Costa an even more torrid time.

The “elephant man” chants directed at Costa by Liverpool fans could give way to spikier taunts. Opposing players will be encouraged and prepared to give as rough as they get from the uncompromising, crafty and physical Spain international.—AP