Alvaro Morata has been phenomenal since he came in and he will probably terrorise Arsenal tomorrow in the same way Costa did.
But you can’t challenge for the Premier League and Champions League with only one striker.
That is no disrespect to Michy Batshuayi, but he just doesn’t look ready to fill in for any extended length of time.
He’s looked dangerous off the bench sometimes but if Morata gets injured, can you see him carrying Chelsea for 15 games? I can’t.
I think they need to buy another striker in January because Costa is not coming back. He will end up at Atletico Madrid.
I don’t think he’s won here at all, though. Abramovich has put his foot down with Costa and is making him miss six months of his career.
Unless he makes a sensational comeback, he is going to miss the World Cup.
Abramovich has not been petty or childish either. It’s just business. He’s going to get a much bigger fee than he would have got had he taken Atletico Madrid’s first offer and he’ll have shown Costa who’s boss.
You don’t become that wealthy and successful by letting people walk all over you. I think Costa has definitely made a big mistake here.
He was playing for one of the best teams in the country and had a great chance of winning the Champions League with Chelsea.
But sometimes pride takes over. I know the manager said he doesn’t want him.
But wouldn’t you come back and prove him wrong?
Instead he’s sulking in Brazil. I think if he’d come back and trained like they asked him to, they would have let him go. But he’s been sitting there in Brazil having a go at the club.
Now he should be sweating because this is his last chance to play in a World Cup.
He has to wait months and miss a load of football. He’s been badly advised. It could ruin his chances of playing for Spain in the biggest tournament in the world.
I think Chelsea have a genuine chance of winning the Champions League. They have done great to turn things around after a difficult start.
They have so much guile now Eden Hazard is back, a good system and players who can hurt you as well as those who can defend.
They just need another striker. They are one player short of being virtually unstoppable.
It won’t matter against Arsenal though. If Chelsea go a goal up, you know Arsenal will capitulate.
It could even end up being another match where, if you’re an Arsenal fan, you will need to turn your head away from the TV – just like against Liverpool.
People say Arsenal have bounced back by beating Bournemouth. That they showed bottle. No they didn’t. It’s Bournemouth.
I hope Arsene Wenger doesn’t try to use Thursday’s Europa League situation as an excuse either. They will have plenty of players fit and rested up for this game.
Let’s face it, it’s Arsenal’s fault they’re in the Europa League. There’s no one else to blame.
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CRYSTAL PALACE are taking a big gamble with Roy Hodgson. Don’t they remember Iceland?
This is a man whose last job was leading England to their worst defeat EVER. I’m not sure about this appointment at all.
Roy’s first game at home to Southampton is a must win as well because they’ve got both Manchester clubs and then Chelsea at home next.
What happens if he loses all four like Frank de Boer? Are they going to sack him, too?
I don’t think the fans are going to give him too much time. The Euros are still fresh in people’s minds.
It was so harsh to sack De Boer. They were unlucky against Burnley and should have won. But he was given no time at all to put his mark on the team.
If they lose this game, you can’t see them getting much out of the next three, and then you’re in serious relegation danger.
The fans could turn very quickly, so this is a big gamble in my opinion.
Roy has plenty of experience but he’s not a young man any more and the game has changed.
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YOU can tell how important Sadio Mane is to Liverpool by the fact they appealed the length of his ban – and they are going to miss him.
Mane and Mo Salah make things happen for Liverpool. But that team is not good enough defensively to win the league and losing Mane is a big blow.
I don’t think he should have been sent off. He’s not that kind of player and only had eyes for the ball. It wasn’t intentional.
I thought Matt Ritchie’s one on Alfie Mawson was much worse, and he didn’t get sent off.
If Mane touches that ball, he scores.
But what was Ritchie doing? He was nowhere near the goal and didn’t have to go in for it like that.
Liverpool were the better team against Manchester City until the red card, then they got battered. Now they have a big match now against Burnley.
In Europe, they played Sevilla and threw away a win. I don’t think that’s the worst result in the world because Sevilla are a good team.
But it puts Liverpool under pressure and they need a good league result now – without their best player.
