Chelsea’s Diego Costa, seen during an English Premier League match against Arsenal, at Stamford Bridge in London, on September 19, 2015. PHOTO/AFP
LONDON, October 19- Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has heaped praise on striker Diego Costa for his performance in the 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday.
Having returned to action following his three-match ban for violent conduct against Arsenal, Costa was influential throughout the victory at Stamford Bridge, netting the first and setting up the second.
Mourinho admits the squad misses the Brazilian whenever he is out, and says his tenacious style of play up front is something that the other members of the squad feed off.
“We need him,” Mourinho told Press Association Sport. “When we lose him we’re a bit in trouble because the team depends always on a striker like him, from a character, from a personality like him. So when we don’t have him, of course we miss him.
“Diego, without even being a leader in the dressing room – he doesn’t even speak English so well to be fluent and being a leader in the dressing room – but in a game…
“The way he plays, the way he gives his body to the cause – because his body is always very punished – is brilliant. The team needs that.”
