Red-hot Costa believes he has even more to offer Chelsea

Diego Costa is the Premier League’s in-form man, but the striker has fired off a warning to Chelsea’s rivals by saying he is still not even at his best.

The 28-year-old Spaniard has comprehensively banished last season’s demons this term, banging in 12 goals already to top the Premier League scoring charts, and also notching up five assists.

Costa netted the deciding goal for Antonio Conte’s Blues against West Brom on Sunday just when it looked like their eight-game winning run could be coming to an end.

But despite his devastating form that has yielded a goal every 110 minutes in the league, Costa insists it is his teammates’ rigidity at the back that is the root of Chelsea’s new-found panache going forwards.

“I’m in great form, but it’s not the best I’ve ever played,’ he said. ‘The best way to attack is to defend well first and we are doing it at the minute.

“They had a few chances at the start of the game but that was it. The team are very compact and well organised so that makes it easier when we attack.”

(Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Back in Chelsea’s 2014/15 title-winning season, the partnership between Cesc Fabregas and Costa was a crucial part of the Blues’ success, although the former has found his playing time limited under Conte so far.

But after assisting his international colleague for the second time in as many weeks on Sunday, Fabregas was adamant that on that occasion, Costa deserved all the plaudits.

“There is something that every pass I make he turns it into something special,” he said.

“It will probably count as an assist but it was all him. The football wasn’t the best but we knew we had to go in behind and push them lower and lower with good pressure.”