Cesc Fàbregas has described Diego Costa’s three-match domestic suspension as “unfair” and a sanction which has left the striker deeply frustrated as Chelsea prepare to welcome the Spain forward back for the Champions League group game in Porto.
Costa was suspended for three games by the Football Association after video evidence was scrutinised of his clash with Laurent Koscielny, missed by the referee, Mike Dean, during the victory over Arsenal this month. The Brazil-born striker sat out the League Cup success at Walsall and was badly missed in Saturday’s draw at Newcastle but while he will complete the suspension against Southampton on Saturday, he is eligible to play in Europe.
Asked about Costa’s state of mind in training in the build-up to the trip to Portugal, Fàbregas said: “He’s frustrated, obviously, and rightly so. We all know the causes of why he is [frustrated]. Some people understand it, some people don’t. It’s very unfair what happened to him. But he’s a key player for us, our striker, a player who has to score our goals and finish our combinations. We expect a lot from him. If you want to win this competition we all have to be at the top of our game, but you need your big players to perform. He’s one of them, for sure.”
José Mourinho, who visited the Porto museum at the Estádio do Dragão on Monday evening as he returned to the club with whom he won the Uefa and European Cups in 2003 and 2004 respectively, has confirmed he will recall Costa. Asked if Chelsea would be in the Premier League’s bottom six if all his players had demonstrated the same commitment and desire as the forward over the campaign to date, the manager said: “I think we would have lost every game because the desire to suspend him is so big we wouldn’t have had players to start the game. So I’m happy we have only one [Diego Costa] and let him play until they decide to suspend him again.”
Mourinho has been deeply frustrated by his team’s inconsistencies this season, with only eight points accrued from seven fixtures in their title defence and an opportunity passed up at St James’ Park to close the gap with the top. The manager admitted none of his squad can consider themselves automatic selections for the team at present given the lack of form throughout, with a response now required out on the pitch.
“To be ‘untouchable’ you have to be consistent, so we have zero untouchables at the moment,” he said. “To be untouchable you have to be a fantastic player but you have to be consistent. At this moment we have fantastic players. Players who gave us the title last season but football is about today, not about yesterday. In football you have to be consistent in your performance and emotion. To be a winner you must have a strong mentality every game.
“At this moment I don’t have untouchables. I have very good players, players I like very much. I like my squad, their qualities as players and their human qualities. It’s a privilege to work with such a group. But untouchables in football? Only consistency can give you that step.”
Fàbregas added: “The start to the season has not been good enough. We know we can do better. We will do better. But we have to start from now. We have to improve and show we are winners, we play for Chelsea, and we want to perform every game. Not because the manager comes to us and is upset. It has to come from us. We are not babies. We are not players who started playing right now. It’s true we have a young squad but that’s no excuse. We won the league last year. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t do it again this year. We have to start performing again from now.
“It’s not complacency. It happened to Manchester City a bit last season when they were champions. Maybe it is mental, something inside you, but this team works well. The manager would never allow us to be complacent. We are training well, motivated. Maybe things aren’t going the way we want at the moment, but I’m sure we can turn it around. Tomorrow – Champions League, Porto away – is a great moment to do that and start playing as well as we did last season.”
