Diego Costa put his infamous temperament on display as he faced his former adversary Martin Skrtel at Stamford Bridge in the Chelsea Legends vs Liverpool Legends clash. The match, which started as a charity match, quickly became heated after Skrtel executed a sliding challenge from behind.
Despite winning the ball cleanly, Costa became furious and immediately confronted his opponent. Costa then took the lead and received a yellow card for pushing Skrtel to the ground. Eden Hazard was asked about Costa’s actions during a short pitchside interview during the half-time break.
“Of course. He still hasn’t changed. We all saw that,” Hazard observed.
Back in 2015, Costa escaped sanction after appearing to stomp on Skrtel during Chelsea’s 3-1 defeat to Liverpool.
Television replays from the time showed him berating the former Reds centre-back.
Despite this, former official Mark Clattenburg, who witnessed the incident, omitted it from his game report, and no further disciplinary action was taken.
The fundraiser marked the second Legends showdown of the year between the two clubs.
Peter Crouch scored twice and delighted supporters with his trademark robot dance in a 2-0 win for Liverpool in early March.
Chelsea’s squad featured club icons such as John Terry, Hazard and Costa.
Roberto Di Matteo manages the Blues legend, while the Liverpool side are managed by Ian Rush, John Aldridge, Phil Thompson and Sammy Lee. The match was designed to raise money for the Chelsea Foundation and the Chelsea Players Trust, with Liverpool confirming that all proceeds will go to LFC Foundation projects.
In the end, Ryan Babbel’s last-minute goal sealed the victory, giving Liverpool their second win over Chelsea in this year’s Legends Friendly.
