Antonio Conte’s Chelsea managed to extend their winning run to 2 games at the weekend after a comfortable victory over the Champions of England at home. There were a number of decent performances on the night but one player who has been exceptional so far this season is Spanish international Diego Costa. Having already found the net 7 times in the league this season, Costa is the highest scorer in the league so far this campaign and is growing on to become a savior for Conte’s side.
In his first season at the club, Costa looked like scoring in almost every game and his exploits in front of goal along with the heroics of Belgian international Eden Hazard gave them the Premier League title. However, a lot of things have changed at the club since then but Diego Costa seems to have found his form from that season. He has been excellent in front of goal this campaign, taking every chance that he gets and has won his team more than 5 points already this season.
He has made 8 key passes this season, collecting a couple of assists in the league. He also created 1.25 chances per game (on an average) and is one of the most effective player in the Premier League this season. But here is one stat that puts him with the best in the history of the club. The Spanish striker has a very enviable minutes to goal ratio in the Premier League. According to a stat, Costa has a conversion rate of one in 133 minutes. That is the best return by a Chelsea striker in the history of the sport (minimum 10 goals) and shows that he might be the best striker to have played for the club.
He is tailor made for the English style of play and he has flourished already with the physical approach that most teams take in this league. But more than that, Costa has shown that he is a superb finisher and a poacher who likes to take every chance that comes his way. He is not a skilled player who can skip past a couple of opponents before finding the corner of the net but is a player who will work hard to find himself some space and time on the ball and is so good that he can punish the opponent if afforded any time and space on the ball.
With Atletico Madrid, Costa was used as the first line of defense where he would put pressure on the opposition defense and start his side’s press in the final third. But at Chelsea, he has had to play as a lone striker leading the line for his side but his attributes have allowed him to adjust to the new role. He has shown that he can consistently score goals, like he did a couple of years ago and if Antonio Conte can have his team play to his strengths throughout the season, Costa can easily turn into the man that will get Chelsea another Premier League title soon.