Is Costa's barren run a cause for concern for Chelsea?
As any team will testify, a trip to Burnley is one of the more daunting prospects in the Premier League this season. Sean Dyche spoke of turning Turf Moor into a fortress upon their return to the top flight of English football and they have done just that. Only three teams have come away from Burnley with all the spoils this season; Swansea, Arsenal and Manchester City. Indeed, only Chelsea (33) and Tottenham (32) have earned more home points than the Clarets (29) in the Premier League this term, with the Blues the latest to come away from Turf Moor without victory.
Conte's men were forced to settle for a point at Burnley last weekend and while they are eight points clear with 13 games to play, it marked another goalless showing for main striker Diego Costa. The Spain international has once more impressed for this title chasing Chelsea side, with his return of 15 league goals bettered only by Alexis Sanchez (17) and Romelu Lukaku (16) this season. However, just one of his 15 goals have come in his last five Premier League outings, while his last shot on target – a tame penalty saved by Simon Mignolet in a 1-1 draw with Liverpool – was 195 minutes ago.
Since rumours of discontent swept through social media like wildfire, Costa’s goalscoring form has nosedived. As the Blues maintain their pursuit of the Premier League title, this underwhelming form could be a cause for concern. The Blues’ record in front of goal is one of the best in England, with only Arsenal and Liverpool (54) netting more goals than Chelsea (52), of which Costa has scored 28.8%. The west London side have been rightly lauded for their fluid attack, with Costa, Eden Hazard and Pedro working perfectly in tandem to put teams to the sword.
That being said, though, Costa’s lack of goals of late has seen their precession to the Premier League title stall somewhat. Following a run of 13 straight league wins, the Blues have won just three of their last six in England’s top tier, two of which have come against relegation fodder Leicester and Hull. Granted, Costa missed the latter victory over the Foxes through injury before making a goalscoring return to the starting XI a week later, but a failure to hit the target in over three hours of Premier League action is a worry.
Of course, his run of form was hardly sustainable. No striker is perfect and all are prone to cold streaks, which Costa is not unfamiliar with. In the opening months of Chelsea’s ill-fated title defence with Jose Mourinho at the helm, the striker bagged just three goals in his opening 14 Premier League appearances of the campaign and only really got back among the goals once Mourinho was given his marching orders. He may have failed to hit the back of the net in just nine of his 23 Premier League appearances this season, however a run of three top-flight games without a goal is his longest drought this term.
In that time he has mustered just six shots on goal, an average of two per game, which is a drop from his seasonal average prior to the 1-1 draw with Liverpool (3.2). What’s more worrying, though, is the sheer dip in his shot accuracy. Costa’s game is best suited to snapshot opportunities, where he goes for goal on instinct rather than with time to think, and it’s for this reason he has scored 15 league goals and boasts a conversion rate of 21.4%, a commendable return. Indeed, prior to the 1-1 draw with Liverpool, his shot accuracy was an impressive 46.9%. In the last three games, though, his shot accuracy has nosedived to just 16.7%.
This may be due to defenders knowing how to limit his influence and nullifying the space required to hit the target, with Costa dispossessed on average 3.3 times per game in the last three league matches compared to 2.9 in the previous 20. As such, he’s unable to be picked out as routinely by teammates as he was in the earlier stages of the season, which has contributed to a drop in form in front of goal. That being said, Costa undeniably boasts the goalscoring prowess to return to his best form where required.
Antonio Conte may opt against calling on the 28-year-old to lead the attack against Wolves this weekend, though the Chelsea boss is fully expected to rely on his top scorer when Swansea make the trip to Stamford Bridge a week on Saturday. The Swans have conceded more goals (54) than any other Premier League team this season and while they have vastly improved on the back of Paul Clement’s appointment, a well rested Costa should have the attacking means to end his minor barren run.
Every striker, regardless of their calibre, goes through a drought, even those as ruthless as Costa. The dip in shot accuracy and a lack of goals may be a worry, but it wouldn’t be a surprise for the striker to get back among the goals when league duties resume next week.
