COMMENT: It's over. Right? Diego Costa and Chelsea. After that bust-up with Antonio Conte on Saturday. There just can't be a future for him at the Bridge...
C'mon. It's the third time in less than a year he's blown up at a Chelsea manager. In Israel and with bib-gate last season. And now against Leicester City. It's ridiculous. How can Chelsea indulge this?
Well, another manager. Another personality. And you could be rock solid sure he'd be out on his ear. But Conte's a different coach. A different man-manager. And that there wasn't any hair trigger reaction from the Italian in the aftermath tells us plenty.
Indeed, he protected Diego. Conte led us all down the wrong road. Claiming it was simply the striker concerned about an extra booking and missing Sunday's blockbuster with Manchester United - and a reunion with Jose Mourinho.
Of course, we now know it was nothing of the sort. It was Diego. Typical Diego. Blowing his fuse with Conte's demands that he up his game after a slack start to the second-half. He'd had enough. He knew better. And if Conte disagreed, then he should take him off.
Again, ridiculous. Almost disgraceful. Especially with four young Academy kids in the squad on the day. How can the manager excuse such a challenge to his authority?
But Conte, while upset, retains a respect for Costa. The show of defiance was unwelcome. But the passion. The willingness to stand his ground. These are qualities Conte looks for in a player.
"The man counts more than the player. I have always relied on men."
It's one of the most striking quotes of Conte's tenure as Italy coach - and offers a great insight into why he was so quick to run interference for Costa's meltdown on Saturday.
Clearly, Conte, upon taking the job, wasn't sure about Costa. He'd put in a phone call to Carlos Tevez, who he'd had at Juventus, urging (pleading if you listen to Carlos) him to return to London. We've also had Alvaro Morata, now stuck on the bench at Real Madrid, confirming a €75 million offer for him to join his old Juve coach in England. It wasn't just the 'project player', Michy Batshuayi, who was imposed upon Conte over the summer. The Italian did attempt to bring in his own men. Men he could trust.
But for all the fall-out from Saturday, it's irrefutable that something has clicked between Conte and Costa this season. He's not running down the lost causes his manager demands. Certainly not in the style of Tevez. But something is working. The Spain international is clear at the top of the goalscoring charts - and in a team whose equal sixth place sounds just about right.
Costa, it can be argued, is back to his best. He's certainly an upgrade on the overweight, surly version we saw last season. Saturday, perhaps, had him again flirting with the darker side. But Conte - and his staff - believe they had it nipped in the bud within hours of the final whistle.
In Spain, of course, the claim is otherwise: After the final whistle, Costa confronted Conte in the home dressing room. The pair screaming at eachother, forcing players and staff to get between them before punches were thrown. Great grist for the mill...
But Conte's demeanour in the post-match presser offered no evidence of such a confrontation. Zero. And as mentioned, he was so calm about what had happened on the pitch he gave us all a line that portrayed his centre-forward in the best possible light.
Through back channels, Chelsea rubbished the story in Marca, claiming mischief-making. And it is actually something you could accept after witnessing Conte's manner post-match. This wasn't the reaction of someone who'd almost come to blows just minutes earlier. Not even the best of Bafta could pull something like that off.
Costa and Conte is more than a marriage of convenience. More than tolerating eachother until the next transfer window. But like in any relationship, there has to be give-and-take. Conte played a beauty on Saturday night. As did the club in reaction to the Spanish angle. It's now up to Diego to repay that show of trust - starting with Jose on Sunday.
