Diego Costa has rediscovered his best form this season, writes Adam Bate…
The Chelsea striker is currently the top scorer in the Premier League with six goals. It's a reminder of the form that saw Costa score 11 times in his first 10 appearances in the competition upon his arrival two seasons ago. But the intervening period featured an alarming dip.
Resolving the reasons for Chelsea's struggles last season proved too much for Jose Mourinho, but the malaise was well summed up by Costa's form. He scored only four goals in 25 appearances for club and country prior to Christmas in the 2015/16 season.
Now on a run of 21 goals from 31 games, Costa is looking formidable once again. So what's changed? There are a number of factors that have combined to get him scoring again…
Improved fitness
Costa is a player who uses his physicality to bully defences. At his best, he's a constant pest capable of overpowering centre-backs over 90 minutes. But that Costa was not the striker on view a year ago, apparently paying the price for a poor pre-season in the summer of 2015.
"I got injured at the end of last season and then I went on holiday," Costa admitted at the time. "Maybe I got out of my diet and, when I came back, I was not the way I was supposed to be. I was a little bit overweight. That affected my game." He's a different player now.
On the opening weekend, Costa made 83 high-intensity sprints - more than in any game last season. His distance covered and sprints per 90 minutes are both marginally up on last season, but most importantly he's still proving effective for those full 90 minutes too.
Five of Costa's six Premier League goals this season have come in the second half, with three of them going in during the final 10 minutes. Two of them were late winners, the other a late equaliser. It's a testament to his improved fitness levels.
Restored confidence
At his lowest ebb under Mourinho, Costa risked not even being on the pitch to pick up these late goals. In a Champions League game against Porto in December, he was substituted after squandering of series of opportunities with the manager pointing to a lack of confidence.
"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," said Mourinho of one wasted chance. "There is a lack of confidence, clearly."
Costa might have the appearance of a hard man not in need of a supportive arm around the shoulder but it was telling that earlier this month he praised Diego Simeone as a coach who "always placed confidence" in him. Getting that confidence back has been important.
Better finishing
It's evident in his finishing. While it would be easy to point to a lack of service as the reason for his decreased output last term, the stats do not fully bear that out. According to Opta, Costa had 19 clear-cut chances come his way in 2015/16 at a rate of one every 125 minutes.
Those high-quality opportunities have come around only once every 155 minutes this season. The difference is that while Costa scored only two additional goals from chances that weren't clear-cut in 2015/16, he's already scored four such goals already in 2016/17.
There was the low drive from 20 yards to win the game against West Ham and the strike into the top corner at Hull last time out. Neither of Costa's goals against Swansea were straightforward opportunities. He's making things happen for himself again.
Better movement
That can partially be attributed to his superior movement. This was something Mourinho had criticised but Costa is now being praised for it, with Antonio Conte highlighting it as "the most important" aspect of his performance in the victory over Hull.
Interestingly, Conte is specific about the movement he wants from Costa. "He knows that in my idea of football, the forward must be a point of reference for the team," Conte said in August. "I don't like that a forward moves around the pitch. He can still improve a lot."
So while Costa is covering more ground and making more sprints, he's also doing it in the right areas. While last season 49 per cent of his activity came in wide areas, that figure has reduced to 39 per cent under Conte. He's focused his efforts in the zones that bring goals.
Regained focus
Focus is perhaps the biggest factor in Costa's return to form. There was much speculation over a possible move back to Atletico Madrid in the summer with the player himself admitting he favoured the switch. "I wanted to go back," he told AS. "I won't lie."
But there seems to have been an acceptance now that it will not be happening soon and with Costa having turned 28 this month, he needs to make Chelsea his priority during this key phase in his career. Staying in the moment is his best option.
"You always have to know that you are going to leave everything on the pitch, every drop of sweat, to help the team win the game," he told Chelsea magazine last month. That's the Costa who Chelsea fans remember. And that's the one they've rediscovered this season.