Video: Did Diego Costa hit West Ham's Aaron Cresswell in the face?
Chelsea striker Diego Costa seemingly got involved in another confrontation during Chelsea’s 1-0 win over West Ham on Wednesday. According to reports, the striker appeared to hit Hammers defender Aaron Cresswell as the two jostled for the ball near the half-line.
The incident was not noticed by the official Andre Marriner and Costa escaped without any booking. The Brazil-born Spanish striker was banned for three matches earlier in the season for stamping on Liverpool player Emre Can’s foot. In the absence of close-ups, here’s a bird’s eye view of the incident. Keep an eye on Costa and Cresswell near the left touchline just in front of the linesman.
West Ham Boss Sam Allardyce had warned his players from trying to intimidate Costa prior to the match at Upton park, saying, “I think trying to wind Costa up only makes him better – which is a silly thing to do,' said Allardyce.
“He will take a bit of shackling. We can't get involved with him. I've told our central defenders not to get involved with the fact he might try and upset them.
“He's an old-fashioned type of centre-forward because he seems to like getting motivated on the physical and niggle aspect of it all. I've told them not to get involved in that and get distracted, simply to focus on him in the final third.”