Diego Costa displayed his notorious temperament during Chelsea Legends’ clash with Liverpool Legends, confronting former adversary Martin Skrtel at Stamford Bridge. What began as a charitable encounter quickly turned heated after Skrtel executed a sliding challenge from behind.
Despite winning the ball cleanly, Costa was incensed and immediately squared up to his opponent. Costa subsequently became the opening player to receive a yellow card, shoving Skrtel to the ground. During the half-time break, Eden Hazard, who gave a brief pitch-side interview, was questioned about Costa’s behaviour.
“Of course. He is still the same, we all saw it,” Hazard observed.
Back in 2015, Costa escaped sanctions after appearing to tread on Skrtel during Chelsea’s 3-1 defeat to Liverpool.
Television replays at the time seemed to capture him lashing out at the former Reds centre-back.
Nevertheless, ex-official Mark Clattenburg, who observed the incident, omitted it from his match report, resulting in no subsequent disciplinary measures.
The fundraising fixture represented the second legends encounter between these clubs this year.
During their earlier March meeting, Liverpool secured a 2-0 victory, with Peter Crouch netting twice and delighting supporters with his trademark robotic dance.
Chelsea’s squad featured club icons including John Terry, Hazard and Costa.
Roberto Di Matteo manages the Blues legends, whilst Liverpool’s side has been overseen by Ian Rush, John Aldridge, Phil Thompson, and Sammy Lee. The match was organised to raise money for the Chelsea Foundation and the Chelsea Players’ Trust, with Liverpool confirming that all proceeds will go towards the LFC Foundation’s projects.
Ultimately, a last-minute goal from Ryan Babel sealed the victory, marking Liverpool’s second win over Chelsea this year in Legends friendlies.
