Chelsea have rubbished claims that Diego Costa and Antonio Conte were involved in a furious dressing room row following the 3-0 win over Leicester City.
Costa was seen reacting angrily to Conte’s touchline instructions in Saturday’s win and Spanish newspaper Marca reported that emotions ran high in the dressing room afterwards.
The report stated that Costa told Conte to “get rid of him” if he didn’t like his style on the pitch, with the links to former clubs Atletico Madrid arising once more.
It was initially thought that with the score at 2-0 and the game effectively won, Costa was asking Conte to substitute him to avoid the risk of a fifth yellow card of the season and a resulting ban.
However, Marca stated that it was in fact Conte’s continual shouting of instructions to the striker which irritated him and the situation came to a head in the dressing room after the match.
Chelsea have denied the claims, slamming the Spanish press for “trouble making”, with a source telling The Sun the pair had a “misunderstanding” on the pitch, but nothing else.
The 28-year-old forward has an aggressive playing style, with his emotions often running high on the pitch.
Costa endured a often-fractious relationship with previous manager Jose Mourinho, with his performances seemingly suffering due to a lack of motivation.
Conte is therefore keen to ensure his star striker remains happy, and he maintained that the Premier League’s top goalscorer still has an important role to play.
“Costa is an important player for us and his passion is important for the team,” he said after the match against Leicester.
“He must transfer this in every single minute of the game. I always take the responsibility in every situation. It’s always my decision whether or not a player is substituted.”
Chelsea are fifth in the Premier League following the win, with 16 points from their opening eight matches.
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