Chelsea Fan View: Diego Costa silences the haters after transfer wrangle

An entertaining, and sometimes tense, affair between the Blues and Hull City resulted in Chelsea rebuilding the steam they lost momentarily to Tottenham in their march to the title.

The opposition was not considered one of the best in the league but they made a good go of it as they came to Stamford Bridge, and had their turn at bossing possession in the second half much like Chelsea did the first.

The murmurs about Diego Costa going here and there were put to rest by the man himself as his goal celebration was a confidence-inspiring mock of all the chatter once he smashed home the opener. It would’ve been nice to see him pat the badge but I think we all get the point.

On top of Diego reasserting himself as the league’s top scorer, Eden Hazard showed once again his immense utility as an attacking player as he was taking on the number 10 role today with great effect. He was spraying passes left, right, and center in a way that would surely earn Fabregas’ approval despite him being on the bench.

Pedro, Willian, and the wingbacks Alonso and Moses are seemingly interchangeable now with such attacking prowess and flair that they seem to be cascading on the opposition. 22 games into the season, the characters of the Chelsea players are showing themselves in the wonderful shows they’ve been putting on at the Bridge.

For example you can always count on Marcos Alonso to be first to whatever ball is on the left side, he will always be the furthest player forward in transition, and he has a wicked cross that has yet to be capitalized on.

N’Golo Kante and Victor Moses are the two shortstops who could be brothers with relentless pace and tackling, and set the tone for half of the Chelsea squad as being squat and fast little runners who can work both sides of the ball.

Gary Cahill is a Spartan warrior in the 21st century, knocking heads with Ryan Mason who came off far worse, and then using that very same noggin to head home the insurance goal later on in the game. As a replacement for John Terry, who himself sacrificed his face and head rather dangerously in an FA Cup Final, Cahill is just as much a leader as JT.

Thibaut Courtois could have been taking the last several weeks off from football but he is as sharp as ever. Called into action more often than usual in today’s game, he has not been resting on the comfortable wall Conte has built for him, but has instead been keeping himself at attention, keen to keep as many clean sheets as possible.

And the biggest character of them all is the mastermind himself, Antonio Conte. Going mad as usual for the insurance goal he is the real deal when he says that he will never play for just a draw, or a lukewarm win. He put on Fabregas and Willian in the 70th minute at 1-0 up to make damn sure Chelsea got that second goal and so it was.

The next month is a challenging one with Arsenal and Liverpool in the agenda, being the two teams of note that Chelsea lost to earlier this season, and will be looking to give a good kick in the teeth for fair retribution.