The Blues striker was left out of his side's
win in Leicester City but his manager's
decision was vindicated at the King
Power Stadium
Antonio Conte avoided a heap of
pressure after Chelsea managed to win
away to Leicester City without his
talismanic striker, Diego Costa, after the
pair fell out over a big-money offer from
China.
Marcos Alonso stepped up to provide the
two killer blows against the Foxes,
opening the scoring after Eden Hazard
found him with a clever pass in the sixth
minute and he soon doubled the lead
with a shot from the edge of the box
which deflected off Wes Morgan and
squirmed past Kasper Schmeichel.
Pedro killed off the game after Willian
found him with a cross - as he nodded
home into an open net - but all the talk
was about the money, power and Costa
at the King Power Stadium.
Chelsea adapted well with Hazard playing
as a false nine and strolled past the
Premier League champions with ease,
despite Costa missing out from what
Chelsea officially stated was an injury.
Costa will have been watching on at
home and will have learned that Chelsea
are capable of moving on without him,
even though he has 14 league goals to
his name, so far this season.
Ideally, Chelsea would like to bring back
Costa, but Conte will want to make an
example that a bid from China doesn't
entitle his players to bumper pay rises.
Costa's row came after he and the club
had negotiations before he received an
offer of £30 million from a club thought
to be Chinese Super League outfit Tianjin
Quanjian.
There is no news on when Costa might
return for Chelsea after he trained alone
this week following the falling out, but
they proved that they can cope without
him, at least in the short term.
Chelsea have goals all over the pitch and
Hazard is ready to step up with Michy
Batshuayi waiting patiently for his
chance on the bench. Alonso proved
today that he can be one of the many
who can provide goals, but Pedro, Willian
and Victor Moses were all threats that the
Leicester side couldn't handle.
Costa to SNUB China move
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Conte had to fight to keep Costa last
summer and he is having to deal with yet
more unrest from his forward in the
following transfer window - with the
Spain international's head turned by
Atletico Madrid prior to the 2016-17
campaign.
All clubs have patience for their biggest
stars no matter what they do, but Costa
will need to be wary that if he pushes
Conte too much that he might just give
him what he wants - a hand opening the
exit door.
In both of Chelsea's games without
Costa, they have recorded 3-0 wins after
their last victory over Bournemouth.
Willian, Pedro and Hazard have proven
that their link up play can be devastating
enough to provide goals in the absence
of the club's true out-and-out striker.
Morgan and Robert Huth couldn't deal
with the movement of the three
forwards and Conte will trust his
alternative approach to his striker
issues.
Chelsea's win over Leicester was another
statement that this is a club ready to be
champions, but Conte's job will be much
easier with a motivated Costa than
without one. If the worst came to the
worst, then the west Londoners have
proven that they can get wins without
Costa and that they have more than one
superstar in their squad.
Cesc Fabregas and Batshuayi came off
the bench in the latter stages which also
displays the remarkable depth of the
champions who remain in good health
as they chase their title, amidst
controversy.
Chelsea's victory worked as an advert for
Costa showing exactly why he should
stay at Stamford Bridge as he has the
chance to help write another remarkable
chapter in his club's history. For latest and accurate news, sports, etc please visit www.guruprofits.com.ng/community

At Last, Conte won the battle