Diego Costa added to his ridiculous goal-scoring record against Swansea City on Sunday with two more strikes, giving him seven goals in four matches against the Swans since moving to England in 2014.
Unfortunately, Sunday's match also added to the ridiculous media campaign against Costa, with leading questions in the press conference peppering both Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte and Swansea head coach Francesco Guidolin, and headlines across the country branding it yet another controversial display from the Chelsea striker.
Mostly for this alleged dive, that, again could've been a second yellow card-worthy offense, apparently. Or some such.
@sidcelery @ChelseaRumours this? pic.twitter.com/VZStTHaVvb
— amadí (@amadoit__) September 12, 2016
For his part, neither Conte nor Guidolin were willing to engage this line of questioning, but were sure to heap praise on the 27-year-old. That's nothing but expected from the Chelsea head coach, but it's certainly nice to hear the opposition coach share similar sentiments.
"Diego Costa is a champion. A strong striker. A fighter. One of the best strikers in the world for me. This was the first time I've been against Diego Costa, live, and he's a very strong player."
"I think it was a challenge between Diego Costa and our defenders. It's a challenge. A fight. And Diego Costa is a good player not only with scoring, but he's a strong player because he's able to play alone against three or four defenders."
-Francesco Guidolin; source: Wales Online
Guidolin was already a self-confessed fan of the Chelsea man, saying before the game how he had wished he had such characters in his own dressing room.
"He is the type of player I would want. He is a very good striker and his attitude is very important to his game. I admire players like him and I want players like this here at Swansea. That's so important in this league to have that type of player."
-Francesco Guidolin; source: Wales Online
The Swansea head coach would probably get tired of the media haranguing his players though, just as Conte has.
"After every game, the press ask me about Diego Costa and his behaviour. Today I can say he had a fantastic behaviour to control the situation."
"He took a lot of kicks from the first minute until the end of the game. I am pleased because he showed me, his team-mates, he showed us all he has fantastic behaviour. It wasn't easy."
"Defenders know him, and sometimes they try to provoke him. He is a player with great passion and they tried to provoke him but this is football, not only in England or with Diego, but all over the world."
-Antonio Conte; source: Chelsea FC
Strong praise from the boss, and well deserved. Just too bad about that one miss that could've made all the difference...