Costa back with a bang
Diego Costa returned for Chelsea with deadly effect yesterday, scoring in the 2-0 win over Hull City which increased their lead at the top of the Premier League to eight points after Arsenal had earlier taken up the mantle as their nearest pursuers.
The Gunners beat Burnley 2-1 at the Emirates where the real drama came in injury time when each side scored a penalty and Arsene Wenger clashed with the fourth official after being sent off for disputing the first spot-kick.
By contrast, the day’s other game seemed routine, with Southampton beating the ailing champions Leicester City 3-0.
Chelsea are odds-on to succeed Claudio Ranieri’s side as victors in May after posting their eighth successive home league win against a Hull side which had Ryan Mason taken to hospital after a sickening clash of heads with Gary Cahill.
The stage was set perfectly for the returning Costa to make more headlines after being said by the club to be missing with injury against Leicester last week while British media reported he was unsettled by the prospect of a bigmoney move to China.
Manager Antonio Conte said before the game that he had been happy with Costa’s mentality and he will have been even more pleased with the goal that put the Blues ahead in first-half injury time after good work on the right by Victor Moses.
The strike sparked a bizarre celebration in which the Spanish international made gestures with both hands that suggested he had just silenced the chatter about his future in the best way possible.
Indeed he had. Costa’s goals -this was his 52nd on his 100th appearance for the club -- remain the main reason why Chelsea are such hot favourites for the title as they now stand on 55 points with Arsenal on 47, Tottenham Hotspur on 46 and Liverpool on 45.
Costa eventually left to a rousing reception late after Cahill settled matters by rising above the visiting defence to head home the second on 81 minutes.
Hull record-signing Ryan Mason underwent surgery after fracturing his skull during a clash of heads during the match
The 25-year-old midfielder ‘‘is in a stable condition and is expected to remain in hospital for the next few days,’’ Hull said.
The Englishman was taken to the neurosurgery unit at a hospital close to Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge after the collision with Chelsea defender Gary Cahill as they went to head the ball.
Mason received treatment for almost 10 minutes on the field before departing on a stretcher, while receiving oxygen. Across London, the goals came even later at the Emirates where the final minutes left the crowd -- and managers -- breathless.
Meanwhile after the astonishing finale to the Arsenal-Burnley clash, which saw Alexis Sanchez net the winner in the 98th minute, a relieved Wenger apologised for his earlier clash with the fourth official.
However, Arsenal’s manager may face an FA charge for appearing to push Anthony Taylor near the tunnel following his dismissal by referee Jon Moss after Burnley’s 93rd-minute penalty had been converted by Andre Gray.