Playing for 90
Fansided

Chelsea – Liverpool combined XI

By David Cambridge

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 16: Adam Lallana of Liverpool and Eden Hazard of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on September 16, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 16: Adam Lallana of Liverpool and Eden Hazard of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on September 16, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
11 of 12
Next
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 22: Diego Costa of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Hull City at Stamford Bridge on January 22, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 22: Diego Costa of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Hull City at Stamford Bridge on January 22, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images) /

Centre forward: Diego Costa

For now, steely-eyed Antonio Conte is making all the right noises in his press conferences, but in reality it remains to be seen whether Diego Costa will still be a Chelsea player at the beginning of next season. It’s now common knowledge that the temperamental Spanish striker has been attracting the interest of wealthy upstarts in the Far East, and it’s difficult for anyone – much less a guy like Costa – to say no to a salary of half a million a week.

In the meantime, let’s enjoy the fact that the Premier League is, for the time being, home to one of the world’s most in-form centre forwards. You can have your reservations about his attitude, but when it comes to bullying centre-halves and winning 50:50 duels high up the pitch, there are few who do it better than Chelsea’s starting striker, who is well on course for a second Golden Boot in just three seasons in England.

Without Costa, it’s difficult to imagine that Chelsea would have opened up such a commanding lead at the top of the table, and Liverpool – especially while Sturridge remains a bit-part player – don’t have anyone who comes even slightly close. In fact, Klopp has favoured playing without a pure 9 for most of the season, which seems less a stylistic preference than it is an admission he doesn’t trust truly any of his strikers (speaking of which, that’s another area the Reds could really do with addressing at the end of the season, if not before).

Home/Premier League