Costa has been on fire this season (Getty; PA; Metro.co.uk)
Diego Costa has revealed that Antonio Conte convinced him to remain at Chelsea over the summer.
The Spain international admitted that he came close to re-joining Atletico Madrid ahead of the current season due to family issues.
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Ultimately the proposed move didn’t materialise and it couldn’t have turned out better for Chelsea.
Costa has been in the form of his life and currently tops of the Premier League scoring charts with 14 for the season. But just how important have his goals been?
In a completely unscientific way, we’ve deleted Costa’s goals from the record books. Like when Marty McFly began disappearing in Back To The Future, you’ll have to suspend your disbelief for a moment. But what this does show is just how important it was that Conte convinced Costa to stay.
15 Aug – dropped two points
Real result: Chelsea 2 West Ham 1
Without Costa: Chelsea 1 West Ham 1
Costa’s goal against West Ham (Getty)
20 Aug – dropped two points
Real result: Watford 1 Chelsea 2
Without Costa: Watford 1 Chelsea 1
27 Aug
Real result: Chelsea 3 Burnley 0
Without Costa: Chelsea 3 Burnley 0
11 Sep – dropped one point
Real result: Swansea 2 Chelsea 2
Without Costa: Swansea 2 Chelsea 0
Costa scored a double against Swansea (Getty)
16 Sep
Real result: Chelsea 1 Liverpool 2
Without Costa: Chelsea 0 Liverpool 2
24 Sep
Real result: Arsenal 3 Chelsea 0
Without Costa: Arsenal 3 Chelsea 0
1 Oct
Real result: Hull 0 Chelsea 2
Without Costa: Hull 0 Chelsea 1
15 Oct
Real result: Chelsea 3 Leicester 0
Without Costa: Chelsea 2 Leicester 0
Costa was on target against Leicester, but it didn’t make a difference to the result (Getty)
23 Oct
Real result: Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0
Without Costa: Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0
30 Oct
Real result: Southampton 0 Chelsea 2
Without Costa: Southampton 0 Chelsea 1
5 Nov
Real result: Chelsea 5 Everton 0
Without Costa: Chelsea 4 Everton 0
20 Nov – dropped two points
Real result: Middlesbrough 0 Chelsea 1
Without Costa: Middlesbrough 0 Chelsea 0
Costa scored the only goal of the game against Middlesbrough (Getty)
26 Nov
Real result: Chelsea 2 Tottenham 1
Without Costa: Chelsea 2 Tottenham 1
3 Dec
Real result: Man City 1 Chelsea 3
Without Costa: Man City 1 Chelsea 2
11 Dec – dropped two points
Real result: Chelsea 1 West Brom 0
Without Costa: Chelsea 0 West Brom 0
In another one-nil win for Chelsea, Costa scored the vital goal (Getty)
14 Dec
Real result: Sunderland 0 Chelsea 1
Without Costa: Sunderland 0 Chelsea 1
17 Dec – dropped two points
Real result: Crystal Palace 0 Chelsea 1
Without Costa: Crystal Palace 0 Chelsea 0
26 Dec
Real result: Chelsea 3 Bournemouth 0
Without Costa: Chelsea 3 Bournemouth 0
*Costa didn’t play this match due to suspension.
31 Dec
Real result: Chelsea 4 Stoke 2
Without Costa: Chelsea 3 Stoke 2
Costa was on target in Chelsea’s most recent victory – their 13th in a row (Getty)
If Costa’s goals hadn’t been scored, Chelsea would have dropped 11 points.
As of the start of today, that would mean they sat on 38 points, back in fifth place in the Premier League table and five behind league leaders Liverpool.
Top six without Costa goals Liverpool – 43 points Arsenal – 40 points Tottenham – 39 points Man City – 39 points Chelsea – 38 points Manchester United – 36 points
Everyone knew Costa was vital to Chelsea’s incredible season – but this shows just how much.
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