Manchester United legend Gary Neville says Diego Costa has always had the respect of his Chelsea teammates.

Neville has discussed Costa's situation, claiming Chelsea players told him the striker was fantastic in training a few weeks ago.

"I was speaking to a couple of Chelsea players a few weeks back," Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast.

"They were saying 'Costa is fantastic in training every single day - his spirit and personality is back'.

"When you heard the news it sounded like Chelsea were trying to self-harm – what are they doing?

"I wondered how it would impact their performance against Leicester and fair do's to them.

"You could have switched off after the first goal as you knew they were going to win. They were in control. They were solid.

"If they lost, then Conte would have had serious questions to answer."