Jose
Mourinho has downplayed Diego Costa's feisty reputation saying the star
Chelsea striker is just seeking goals - not trouble.
In scoring seven times in his first four Premier League games, Costa has
quickly settled at Stamford Bridge and Mourinho plans to select him for
Sunday's crunch match at Manchester City despite a continuing hamstring
problem.
But the £32million summer signing from Atletico Madrid has also quickly been
labelled combative.
Mourinho defended Costa, saying: "This is a completely fake point.
"Maybe it's a point based on what happened in previous seasons, not what
happened here. Here he got the right advice, the right education.
"The referees are there to see the provocation. Diego is trying to play.
He's not afraid of aggressive opponents.
"He doesn't let other players intimidate him. He's not there to provoke
people. He's there to play football and to score goals."
Costa was booked against Everton, whose manager Roberto Martinez criticised
the Brazil-born Spain forward for goading Seamus Coleman during the Blues'
6-3 win, after being shown a yellow card for diving against Burnley when it
seemed like a penalty should be awarded.
"He got two yellow cards," Mourinho said. "One is completely unfair because
it was a penalty. The second one because he was provoked for the whole game
and he had a little reaction.
"He's being completely fair and giving zero problems to referees and
behaving very, very well and just worried about playing his football."
Mourinho also praised fellow summer recruit Cesc Fabregas who has already
developed a fine understanding with Costa, the midfielder laying on six
assists in his first four Chelsea games.
Fabregas is having the impact Mourinho hoped, having recruited the former
Arsenal captain despite the Gunners reportedly having first option if
Barcelona were to sell.
"The surprise for me was not that he didn't go to Arsenal, the surprise for
me was that he was leaving," Mourinho said.
"I thought he was going to stay at Barcelona. I was looking at him as the
natural successor of this generation of players of Barcelona, like Xavi.
"We had other faces in mind, other players on standby, in case we couldn't
get him. We went without fear. We went trying to get him. It's possible,
it's possible. It's not possible, we move on.
"One of the reasons he's so important for us is exactly because he can play
in any position in midfield.
"Even in Barcelona he was playing as a nine, their style of nine. Sometimes
he was playing from the left wing too.
"He can play in many positions. It depends what you want from the game. What
is your plan? Where do you think he can have more influence in the game?"
Fabregas, at 27, is in the prime of his career and, despite run-ins with
Chelsea during his spell at Arsenal, the Blues boss had no second thoughts
about signing the Spain midfielder.
"He was always in trouble," Mourinho said. "When he was at Arsenal he was
always fighting Chelsea, and now he plays for us.
"He was just a young guy trying to make the best for Arsenal and at that
time Chelsea was the strongest team. Just normal competition.
"Supporters just want players to play well for his club and to show
commitment. I don't think it's any problem."
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