It was nothing – Costa dismisses ´row´ with Chelsea boss Conte

Chelsea striker Diego Costa insists there was nothing in his reported January row with head coach Antonio Conte and maintains he and his Stamford Bridge colleagues are “on the same page”.

Costa netted his 17th Premier League goal of the season in Monday’s 2-1 victory at West Ham that moved Conte’s men 10 points clear of Tottenham at the top of the table

Chelsea’s dominance of the title race continued unchecked earlier in the year when Costa was linked with a mega-money move to Chinese Super League side Tianjin Quanjian.

He missed the 3-0 win at Leicester City, with Conte citing a back injury amid rumours of a rift between himself and his top scorer, before the Spain international made a scoring return against Hull City.

On that occasion, Costa gesticulated during his goal celebration to mock ongoing discussion over his future and he told ESPN Brasil suggestions he wanted to leave Chelsea were a work of media fiction.

“It was nothing,” Costa said. “People here [in England] make up a lot of stuff. Things happen, but I’m showing now that there’s nothing to it.

“I’m playing and scoring goals, and that’s the important thing. Everyone knows that anything I say has bigger repercussions than what it was.

“The manager is someone who works us really hard in training. He’s got his personality just like I’ve got mine and others have theirs, but the important thing is to show your personality in a way that benefits the team.

“This is what’s happening. Everyone is on the same page and that’s the way we have to go.”

goals in the league for @diegocosta! pic.twitter.com/XRGyiWDi7W

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 7, 2017

Chelsea were in dominant form at London Stadium following Eden Hazard’s excellent first-half opener, with Manuel Lanzini’s stoppage-time consolation arguably adding a flattering slant to the scoreline from a West Ham perspective.

Costa believes the Hammers have lost some of the advantages afforded to them by their former ground Upton Park, which they left to move into the London 2012 Olympic venue for this season.

“It was always a tough game,” he said. “When they come to a bigger pitch, with the crowd further from the players, maybe they don’t feel the same heat from the crowd.

“For us or other teams that come here it’s almost like coming to a neutral ground, because no one’s used to be playing here. It’s more equal.”