Fight, kiss, cuddle, make up: Diego Costa vs. Jose Mourinho

Like a bad Katy Perry song, but worse, this one stars Jose Mourinho and Diego Costa.  Apparently the former has been rather displeased with the latter, not necessarily over the lack of goals but the lack of movement.  The Chelsea manager is hardly alone in his assessment of Costa's poor movement; far too often there's been nobody on the end our crosses and cutbacks.  Costa made his living last season on plays like that, on movement and anticipation in the box, scoring a large part of his goals from just such sequences.  Without the required movement, those goals have dried up.

Apparently this all came to a head at half-time against Maccabi Tel-Aviv as the two exchange angry looks and words.  According to the Daily Mail, something similar already happened on the weekend, too, against Norwich City — feel free to read as much into that "celebration" then as you want.  But Mourinho claims that despite sending Loïc Rémy out to warm-up at half-time, the differences with Costa were smoothed over in the dressing room and so our main striker finished out the game.

"The Oscar goal for me was the one that I was really happy with because finally we had someone arriving in the box, attacking a cross and finishing a good combination because apart from that it was set pieces, even this game, that gave us goals."

"With Diego I wanted him to do a certain movement that he didn't and I was disappointed and reacted and he reacted too, but at half-time in the dressing room there were a few kisses and cuddles."

-Jose Mourinho; source: Chelsea FC

Not that those words will dissuade a new round of transfer rumors about Costa wanting to leave, I'm sure.  The Mail have already assured us that Costa was in fact the first off the pitch and the first onto the bus.  As if that means anything.

In any case, assuming Rémy made it out okay from his big collision with the Maccabi goalkeeper, I suppose there's an outside chance that he gets the start on Sunday against Spurs.  But more than likely, it will be Costa again.  Hopefully, he takes the manager's words to heart and shows us some of the movement (and finishing ability), which propelled him to 20 league goals last season.