Mourinho pleased with Diego Costa, thinks he could have scored two or three

Diego Costa has been struggling mightily this season, so much so that manager Jose Mourinho has been starting him on the bench quite a bit of late. The center forward impressed Mourinho on Wednesday however, despite not scoring a goal, and the manager noting that he's lacking confidence:

‘It’s clear but what is also clear is his effort, commitment and great movement, which is something he hasn’t had in the last couple of months. Tonight it was great. The first goal was obviously an own goal but his movement was great when the pass arrived. Last season he would have scored immediately but this season he couldn’t.'

‘With the second chance when he faced the keeper on his own, you could immediately feel the lack of confidence because the first thing he did was not attack the goal but look to the linesman. When he did that he lost an important second and his last touch on the ball was not the best.'

‘He could have scored two or three goals today. There is a lack of confidence, clearly, but his attitude was very good and his movement was much better, so goals are coming. I took him off not because I was unhappy with his performance but to give something different to the team, to attack the spaces with faster people.’

While the finishing certainly wasn't there, it's hard to disagree with Mourinho on his movement. Here's hoping that the finishing touch comes back with all of the chances he's starting to see, and we can all stop worrying that we might have a new Fernando Torres.