Training-ground tackles spark a row between Costa and Oscar

Diego Costa showed once again what he is capable of, and once again in a negative way. The Spaniard is well known as a man who never hesitates to show what he thinks and feels, and he has always let his temper interfere with his great skills.
This time his teammate Oscar was in the wrong place, and Costa showed him what a cruel tackle on an opponent’s leg looks like. It was only a training game between Chelsea players, which makes it easy to imagine what might have happened in a competitive match. Hardly the ideal way to start a training session.
In fact, Oscar made the first tackle on Diego, but it was not serious enough to hurt the Spaniard. Costa, however, was so angry with the Brazilian that he felt the need to kick the midfielder.
It was another serious scandal in a poor season for Chelsea. After the tackles, the two players were so angry that they started insulting each other. All of this happened in a training match at The Blues’ Cobham base ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup third-round tie against Scunthorpe. Oscar was slightly injured after Diego Costa’s tackle.
In the end, Diego Costa and Oscar talked calmly after the session and left the pitch together. Even so, it would be no surprise if the two did not play together against Scunthorpe on Sunday.
This was not the first time the Spaniard had done something like this. He is known for being very aggressive on the pitch, is often shown yellow cards by referees and is frequently suspended for unacceptable behaviour.
Diego Costa had been dropped from the Blues’ starting eleven by former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, but Guus Hiddink backed the striker, and the Spaniard scored two goals in the team’s last three games. The reason for the improvement was that Hiddink used Costa as a centre-forward, while Mourinho had made him spend much of his time on the left flank, far away from the box.
The Spanish striker was Chelsea’s top Premier League scorer with 6 goals in 16 appearances, and he had also scored once in the Champions League that season. He finished the previous season with 20 goals as the third-best scorer in the league. Occasional violent outbursts aside, the attacker has the eye of a goal-scoring machine.

The FA Cup tie against Scunthorpe

Any fears about the atmosphere in the squad did not show on the pitch. Both players started against League One side Scunthorpe United at Stamford Bridge on Sunday 10 January 2016, and Chelsea won 2-0. Diego Costa was credited with the opening goal in the 13th minute, turning in a Branislav Ivanovic cross from close range, although some reports suggested the final touch came off the Scunthorpe defender Scott Laird. It was Costa's fourth goal in three starts. Oscar was replaced at half-time by Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and the teenager scored his first senior goal for Chelsea midway through the second half from a cut-back by Cesar Azpilicueta to settle the tie. Scunthorpe had a strong penalty appeal turned down when Ramires challenged Kevin van Veen in the box.

Where their paths led

The two clashed in training during a season in which Chelsea were defending the title, and Costa had been central to that triumph. His 20 league goals in 2014/15 helped the club win the Premier League. Under Antonio Conte he repeated the tally in 2016/17, finishing as Chelsea's top scorer with 20 league goals as the club won the title again.

The two players did not stay together for long. Oscar played less under Conte and left Chelsea for Chinese club Shanghai SIPG in January 2017, for a fee widely reported to be around £60m. Costa followed later the same year: in September 2017 Chelsea announced an agreement with Atletico Madrid for his return to the Spanish club, in a deal reported to be worth about £57m including add-ons. Because Atletico were under a transfer ban, he could not play for them until January 2018.