Courtois: Costa has found his best form for Chelsea again

By all accounts Diego Costa was very much on the verge of leaving Chelsea at times last season, but according to teammate Thibaut Courtois the Spanish hitman is back to his very best for the Blues this term.

Costa bagged his seventh goal in eight Premier League matches so far on Saturday, but more than just hitting the net, the 28-year-old’s workrate and movement has come on leaps and bounds this season from last year’s unconvincing displays.

The striker, now in his third season at the club, boasts the best games-per-goal ratio of any Chelsea player in Premier League history.

And Courtois, who knows Costa better than most having been a teammate at Atletico Madrid for three seasons, reckons he is only going to get better this season.

“He’s at his best, he’s playing how he did at Atletico and during his first season here,” he said.

“Last year was difficult for everybody but after January he started scoring a lot of goals and he’s taken the form he produced at the end of last season into this one.

“He’s playing very well. It’s great to have a striker who scores so many goals and who can do it easily. It makes it difficult for the players behind him such as Michy to get into the team but Diego does everything well.

“We’re happy he’s in this form but it’s down to the whole team to perform well and contribute with goals.”

Costa dedicated his goal against Leicester City in Saturday’s lunchtime clash to teammate Willian, who missed the game on compassionate grounds after his mother died last week.

And while Costa has earned a bad reputation for some of his questionable antics on the pitch, Courtois insists his personality is a vital part of the Chelsea team.

He added: “He’s a great guy and a good friend. He’s always involved in the jokes but he wants to work hard and he wants to win.

“On the pitch he goes into a mode where he will give everything to win, he goes for every ball. On occasions he can sometimes clash with defenders but that’s simply because he gives everything and I don’t think that’s a bad thing.

“Sometimes it can help the team because when you see a guy performing like that you want to follow, it gets the adrenalin inside your body going and you need that to win games.

“You need players who desperately want to win and who will lead the other players, so we’re very happy with him.”