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Chelsea made a big statement with their 3-1 victory at the City of Manchester stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Blues delivered the textbook smash-and-grab away performance that we have become accustomed to in recent years from successful Chelsea sides.
The irrepressible Diego Costa was crucial on Saturday, as he has been throughout his side’s imperious recent run of form.
The Spaniard was deservedly awarded the man of the match award following his performance, which far exceeded the goal and assist that the record books will recall.
Costa effectively took on Manchester City’s three central defenders himself on Saturday. Nicolas Otamendi in particular floundered against the Chelsea forward’s physicality, desire and quality in the final third.
For those who have followed Chelsea’s matches so far this season, such a performance was hardly a surprise.
Already Costa has notched 11 Premier League goals, equal at the top of the charts with the also red-hot Alexis Sanchez who scored a hat-trick against a hapless West Ham on Saturday.
The Spaniard’s second-half pass to release Willian on goal was his fifth assist of the season, already more than he managed in Chelsea’s title winning 2014-15 season.
However, Costa’s greatest strength lies in his ability to fill the role of the archetypal modern-day ‘all-round striker’.
His work-rate is second to none, working not only hard but intelligently, cutting down defenders’ passing angles and acting as the trigger for Chelsea’s defensive pressing.
As I mentioned in my preview for Saturday’s game, Antonio Conte’s shift to a 5-man backline has been the catalyst for his side’s recent upturn in form.
Chelsea has been so successful with this new formation because their attacking trident has been utterly clinical in attack. Keeping a clean sheet means you only need one goal to seal a win.
Along with crushing victories against teams like Everton at home, the Blues have also fought hard for points, such as in their 1-0 success away at Middlesborough.
And who scored the winning goal that day? Diego’s your man.
Costa is so crucial for Chelsea’s 5-2-2-1 formation because he’s able to hold the ball up and bring his teammates into the game as they break from defence.
So far this season, Costa has won 85 duels – contrast that with Sergio Aguero’s 46 – and completed 77 successful dribbles, eclipsing the more nimble Sanchez and Aguero (both 62).
By slowing the game down, players like Eden Hazard, Willian and Pedro can link up with their frontman in dangerous areas. Willian’s goal on Saturday was a perfect example.
If Chelsea is to continue their rich vein of form and launch a genuine title bid, no question is more pertinent: can Diego Costa keep it up?
Previous evidence suggests yes. A look back on the Spaniard’s record in previous prolific seasons is convincing.
In Atletico’s triumphant 2013-14 La Liga campaign, he finished with 27 goals, while his haul in Chelsea’s 2014-15 league victory was an impressive 20 goals in 26 games.
Compare that to Costa’s more underwhelming record of 11 goals in 28 appearances during his side’s disappointing 2015-16 season, and you sense two things: once he gets going, he keeps going; and if Diego fires, so does his team.
Evidence suggests that this could be the most dominant period of Costa’s career yet. He seems to have shaken off the hamstring injuries that dogged him so consistently last season, starting each one of his side’s 14 Premier League outings so far.
For a player like Costa, confidence in your own fitness is crucial to maintaining the kind of ruthless intensity and aggression that he builds his game on.
While his belligerence has traditionally been both his drawcard and achilles heel, this year it appears Costa has managed to channel his aggression into the former rather than the latter.
He has now gone eight games for club and country without a booking – his longest run in five years.
Teammate and vice-captain Gary Cahill noted on Saturday that Costa has become a smarter player, saying in the past, when the team was starved of the ball he might become frustrated.
“But this time he kept his cool and got more involved in the second half, and when he does that he is one of the best going”, Cahill said.
It would take a brave pundit to disagree with that at the moment.
Chelsea has unquestionably gone from pre-season enigmas to convincing title contenders as we now enter the 15th round of the campaign.
They state a strong case with their mixture of experience and youth, strength in depth and avant-garde revelation of a manager.
While fellow high-flyers Liverpool stumbled on Sunday, Chelsea’s title push seems to be growing stronger by the week.
Just keep that Brazilian-born Spanish boy fit and hungry.
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