With Manchester City drawing 2-2 at Arsenal and Liverpool suffering a shock 1-0 home defeat by Aston Villa, Jose Mourinho's Chelsea were the big winners in the fourth round of Premier League games.
Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard relishes playing with striker Diego Costa and is keen for the Spaniard to resolve his stand-off with the English Premier League champions and return to action.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is keen to see how his side cope with the absence of striker Diego Costa and midfielder N'Golo Kante and may change his favoured 3-4-3 formation when Bournemouth visit.
Spain squeezed past dogged Iran 1-0 in their World Cup Group B encounter on Wednesday, thanks to a fortuitous goal from Diego Costa, but the Europeans suffered a string of second-half scares.
Midfielders John Obi Mikel, Andre Schurrle and Ramires will all play no part while striker Didier Drogba is not fit enough to play for 90 minutes, according to manager Jose Mourinho.
Premier League-based trio Diego Costa, Juan Mata and Santi Cazorla were among a high-profile list of absentees when Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque named his provisional 25-man squad for Euro 2016 on Tuesday. Costa injured his hamstring against Liverpool in Chelsea's penultimate game of the season. Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres was also absent from the squad despite his improved form towards the end of the season, as were Arsenal midfielder Cazorla and Valencia forward Paco Alcacer, Spain's top scorer in their qualifying campaign.
'I think it's unacceptable what he does to Koscielny. He pushes him down, he hits him in the face. I do not understand Mike Dean's decision at all. Why does Diego Costa stay on the pitch and Gabriel is sent off?' 'If you want to speak about Diego Costa with me, it's just to say he played like he has to play and that's why you have full stadiums, you sell to television around the world for millions and millions because the game has to be played like that'
Chelsea scored a second successive win over a newly-promoted side when they beat Leicester City 2-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday thanks to second-half goals from Diego Costa and Eden Hazard.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is uncertain about the future of Diego Costa, as Spanish media reports have linked the striker with a possible return to Atletico Madrid. The 27-year-old, who joined the London club from Atletico in 2014, did not feature in Chelsea's 3-2 defeat by Real Madrid in a pre-season friendly on Saturday due to a back injury. The Spain international scored 12 times last season as the club finished 10th in the Premier League, with British media reports also linking Everton striker Romelu Lukaku with a potential move back to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea had the look of champions again as they maintained their comfortable seven-point advantage at the top of the Premier League with a 3-1 victory at Bournemouth on Saturday -- but Tottenham Hotspur will not give up the chase.
Arsenal missed their chance to go back to the top of the Premier League after being forced to play with 10 men for much of the game against London rivals Chelsea on Sunday.
Chelsea striker Diego Costa is uncertain to start their Premier League game against Stoke City as he tries to shake off the lingering effects of a hamstring injury, manager Jose Mourinho said on Friday.
Chelsea coach Antonio Conte welcomed the pressure other clubs are trying to maintain on his runaway Premier League leaders and said he expected a battle until the season is over.
Chelsea regained their six-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table and took a step closer to the title thanks to a hard-fought 3-2 victory at Hull City on Sunday.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said he and striker Diego Costa have made up with 'kisses and cuddles' after their halftime row in Tuesday's 4-0 Champions League win over Israeli opponents Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Chelsea go into Sunday's game holding a 10-point lead over second-placed Arsenal and manager Jose Mourinho may have to thrust one of his young strikers into the fray.
Chelsea striker Diego Costa credited manager Antonio Conte for the side's record-equalling run of 13 consecutive victories that has propelled them to the top of the English Premier League table.
With the Catalans shorn of three of their top forwards, all eyes will be on Griezmann in his first appearance at the Camp Nou since his 120-million-euro ($133 million) move from Atletico Madrid, and not least because Barca need a win to kickstart their season.
Chelsea striker Diego Costa and Arsenal's Gabriel Paulista have both been charged by the Football Association after incidents in Saturday's bad-tempered Premier League derby at Stamford Bridge.
A draw in Kaliningrad would guarantee the 2010 winners safe passage into the last 16 but to be assured of winning the group they need to win a scoring contest with Portugal, who play Iran at the same time.
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo curled in a sizzling late free kick to strike the first hat-trick of the 2018 World Cup and grab his side a point in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Spain on Friday as the Group B blockbuster lived up to the hype.
AC Milan have agreed a two-year loan deal with Chelsea for Fernando Torres but the Spain striker has yet to agree terms, the Italian club said in a statement on Friday.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho complained about a 'witch-hunt' by the footballing authorities against Diego Costa ahead of Tuesday's Champions League Group G match at Porto.
New signings Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas made an instant impact for Chelsea as they launched their Premier League title bid with a confident 3-1 win at promoted Burnley on Monday.
Spanish prosecutors have won a series of cases against high profile footballers and coaches for tax fraud in recent years, including Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho.
Diego Costa has accused Chelsea of treating him like a "criminal" in a forthright newspaper interview which will deepen the breach with the Premier League club.
When Griezmann fired Atletico to victory over Olympique de Marseille in the Europa League final in May it was widely viewed as his last stand for Diego Simeone's side before a move to Barca but they successfully convinced the Frenchman to stay.
Chelsea agreed a deal to sign Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata, subject to the Spain international agreeing personal terms and passing a medical.
Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah and Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny have returned another positive test for COVID-19, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) said on Wednesday.
Chelsea striker Diego Costa says he was wrong to throw his bib towards manager Jose Mourinho when he was left on the bench during the goalless English Premier League draw with Tottenham Hotspur last month.
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has included Diego Costa in his final 23-man squad for the World Cup finals despite the Brazil-born forward's recent injury woes.
Diego Costa's season is getting better and better. The Atletico striker found the net again and took the Madrid team atop the La Liga table.
A goal in added time by Diego Costa earned Chelsea a 1-1 draw against Manchester United on Sunday and preserved Guus Hiddink's unbeaten record while denying Dutch compatriot Louis van Gaal victory.
Chelsea has reportedly agreed to acquire Atletico Madrid's Diego Costa for a transfer fee of 80million pounds.
Chelsea are now 11 points ahead of Manchester City who have 13 games left to play and while Italian Conte is too cagey to start proclaiming his side yet, only a monumental loss of form can deny them the title.
Atletico Madrid hope to have talismanic striker Diego Costa back fit against Barcelona on Wednesday when the La Liga leaders bid to pull off another Spanish surprise by reaching the Champions League semi-finals.
Cristiano Ronaldo struck midway through the first half as leaders Real Madrid won 1-0 at Malaga in La Liga on Saturday, while Atletico Madrid stayed hot on their heels after Diego Costa netted in a 1-0 victory over Espanyol.
Costa has not played for Chelsea since the FA Cup final in May, following which he claims manager Antonio Conte sent him a text telling him he was not in his plans for the new season.
The two-legged ties will be played from February 16.
The weekend was a goal-feast with footballers from all over Europe keeping their names on the scoresheet. Rediff.com brings you the top goal-scorers of the weekend.
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