Troy Deeney calls out Diego Costa perfectly

Watford attacker Troy Deeney was spot on with his post-match criticism of Chelsea forward Diego Costa

Watford forward Troy Deeney has never been afraid to call things as he sees them. His post-match comments about Chelsea forward Diego Costa aren’t going to do anything to alter that reputation.

The Express reports that Deeney claimed Costa would have been “laughed off the pitch” in his Sunday League for overreacting to contact as he did during the match. Per usual, Costa found himself squarely in the mix of several controversies during the match.

The first, in all fairness, was more the fault of Watford defender Juan Carlos Paredes, but Costa still managed to escalate the situation. Both men were given yellow cards for their roles in the incident, but Costa didn’t let it end there. He continued to overreact to the situation by yelling at referee Mike Dean in the tunnel afterwards.

More from Playing for 90

Deeney is entirely right to call Costa out for being overly theatrical on the pitch. We’ve seen it time and time again from the Brazilian forward. He can dish out contact, but certainly doesn’t seem capable of receiving it.

That’s my biggest beef with Costa as a player and a person. In truth, I actually like the edge he plays the game with. I wish more players were as competitive as he obviously is. You just can’t have it both ways.

If Costa is going to be a player who dishes out that kind of physicality and punishment, he has to live with the consequences. Namely, that means he must be willing to receive such treatment. It also means he has to accept the possibility that opposing players are going to embellish the results of his contact. It’s just part of the deal.

Instead of dealing with these consequences in a professional manner. Costa all too often flies off the handle and acts foolish out on the pitch. He needs to realize that when he loses control of his emotions it hurts his play and as such, damages Chelsea.