José Mourinho fears Diego Costa has been blunted by a recent domestic three-match ban, as he prepares to throw the forward straight back into the fray against Paris Saint-Germain.
Costa, who was suspended for a stamp on Liverpool’s Emre Can, has not featured for three weeks, with that enforced lay-off prompting Mourinho to organise a practice game behind closed doors at the end of last week aimed at granting the 26-year-old a semi-competitive run-out. The striker is the club’s top scorer this season with 17 goals in 19 Premier League games and, despite rustiness, will make an immediate return to the side.
“He will start but a long rest is not good for him,” said Mourinho who, like Costa, vehemently contested the suspension. “I don’t think it’s good for a player to be three weeks, or three matches, without starting a game. So I don’t think he’ll be in the best condition. A little rest is welcome for everyone; a big rest isn’t good for the players. So we are not going to see the best Diego. I hope I’m wrong, but probably he will need this game to try to get back to his best.
“We organised a game three or four days ago with the kids for him to compete in. We tried to replicate competition for him but it’s different. I know he has hunger to play, a big appetite to play, and the Champions League scenario is a scenario that every player enjoys. And, at the same time, [Loïc] Rémy and [Didier] Drogba have played in the last three matches. Obviously it’s important for them to have had minutes and confidence and I know that I have them both ready for the game, too.”
Costa’s last goal in European competition was for Atlético Madrid against Chelsea. Mourinho had hoped his £32m summer signing would prove the significant difference between his team and PSG. Last season’s 3-1 defeat at Parc des Princes in the first leg of the quarter-final had prompted him to bemoan the lack of attacking options at his disposal at the time, with Samuel Eto’o absent injured and André Schürrle having been preferred to Fernando Torres or Demba Ba from the start. That quartet have since moved on.
Mourinho will hope his revamped frontline wounds PSG, whose preparations had been severely undermined by a flurry of injuries sustained during Saturday’s wasteful 2-2 draw with Caen. Serge Aurier, Yohan Cabaye and Lucas Moura will miss the game, though Laurent Blanc ended Monday night’s training session encouraged that Marquinhos, Blaise Matuidi and Thiago Motta would be fit having taken part in the session.
The French champions’ manager has warned his players Mourinho will seek to “raise the temperature on the pitch” and urged them to remain calm and not react to any provocation in what will be a keenly contested occasion. Blanc was asked specifically about his young Italy midfielder Marco Verratti, whose temperament has proved suspect. “With him, it’s about how he controls his temper,” he said. “He has to show he has improved on that level. I know José Mourinho a bit and I know he’ll raise the temperature on the pitch. So my players need to be cold, they need to be calm and they mustn’t react even when it is hot out there on the turf. They must stay calm and cold. We can’t afford any more yellow cards. It’s a real test for Marco, but I think he has matured and will cope with it.”
Mourinho, who will hand Cesc Fàbregas a first start since the midfielder’s recovery from a hamstring injury, declined to comment on Blanc’s remarks.
