COSTA
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte feels Diego Costa has learned to control his aggression on the pitch after the volatile striker completed his 10th game without a booking and scored the winner in Sunday's 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion.
Costa, who tops the Premier League scoring charts with 12
goals, picked up four bookings early in the season and remains at risk of a
one-match ban should he receive a yellow card in any of Chelsea's next four
games.
The cut-off date for a suspension after accumulating five
bookings is December 31.
'January is arriving, no? It's incredible. If you ask me why
in the past I don't know. But now if you ask me about Diego I can talk well
about his work-rate, commitment and behaviour,' said Conte.
'But I'm very lucky because I have players with great behaviour.
Diego is showing his passion in the right way. You ask why it happened in the
past, but I don't know. I don't like the provocation.'
Conte also laughed off suggestions Chelsea could be docked
points after they were charged by the Football Association (FA) for failing to
control their players during their feisty victory at Manchester City.
'For me, if you are involved in a situation where you are
not at fault, why must you pay?' Conte said.
'Why? I don't understand this. At the end of the Manchester
City game, my players tried to keep their calm. It would be a joke (if the FA
imposed such a punishment on his club). You must be honest and understand which
team is at fault.'
Chelsea have been fined five times by the FA for failing to
control their players since February 2015.
'We had a bad record in the past but now we are different. I
don't know what happened in the past. I know what is happening in the present,
and that is why I ask if this is a joke or not,' the Italian added.
Leaders Chelsea will hope to extend their nine-game winning
run in the league when they travel to face bottom side Sunderland on Wednesday.
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