THIS TIME COSTA ISN’T HAMMING IT UP
EVENTUALLY he snapped, trudging off after 75 minutes and wondering when his next game in a Chelsea shirt will be. This has been brewing for a while, simmering in the background at a time when Jose Mourinho needs his first-choice striker on the pitch in the final, decisive nine games. Diego Costa, this hot-head in a Chelsea shirt, has tweaked his hamstring again and Mourinho will expect his prized forward to barter his way out of Spain’s two games. This time the complaint felt legitimate, particularly as the score was delicately balanced at 2-2 when Costa signalled for help. Loic Remy, his replacement, answered the SOS by scoring Chelsea’s winner with his first touch. It was a shame to see Costa disappear down the tunnel, particularly after he had joined Harry Kane at the top of the Premier League scoring chart with a rasping effort to put Chelsea 2-0 ahead. Now Spain, who have a Euro 2016 qualifier against Ukraine on Friday and a friendly with Holland the following Tuesday, will dictate when the forward plays again. Mourinho, who has an uneasy relationship with Spain coach Vicente del Bosque, said: ‘When the team needs a goal with 15 minutes to go and the striker has a lot of experience with hamstring injuries and says it’s over, it’s over. We know his hamstring is not strong. Now he has 15 days without football but we never cry about our injured players. ‘He has had this problem since he tried to play in the Champions League final against Real Madrid. He has this fragility.’ There has been talk of an operation at the end of the season but Mourinho revealed: ‘Dr Biosca (Chelsea’s medical director) is against knives, against surgery. He’s all in favour of conservative work and collective work between the medical department and fitness staff. This is the direction, we believe.’ It had been another eventful game for Costa, full of sly digs and elbows as he responded to the prods in the back from Steve Bruce’s players. Everyone tries to work him over these days. There was a flashpoint, of course there was, because that is the way Costa plays the game. He snarls, he snaps, he scores. After Hull had pegged back Chelsea amid raucous scenes in the stands, he threw an elbow in the direction of Jake Livermore. It was not seen by Michael Oliver, the referee who also failed to spot Costa stamping on Emre Can during the volatile Capital One Cup semi-final second leg at Stamford Bridge. On this occasion he is expected to escape. The real punishment was for Hull, beaten by the boot of Remy just a couple of minutes after he had replaced Costa. Remy is a useful back-up, full of enthusiasm despite his lack of minutes. Mourinho had every reason to be grateful. ‘Every time he plays he is there and he probably deserves more than I give him,’ admitted a mightily relieved Mourinho. ‘There are not many times when a coach owes something to a player but with Remy that’s the case. Every time he plays he gives us a lot.’ After scoring the winner here for Chelsea, he has earned a break.