Diego Costa strikes again as Chelsea go top with win over West Brom

This was a slog, a result ground out against ruggedly obdurate opposition, but Chelsea may end up gaining more satisfaction from prevailing in those awkward circumstances than from some of the more comfortable strolls they have enjoyed over a nine-match winning streak. The leaders have reimposed their three-point advantage at the top of the division, and ended West Bromwich Albion’s own impressive burst of form in the process. There is something relentless about Antonio Conte’s team at present and, since early October, no one has found a way of checking their progress.  Tony Pulis and his industrious team came agonisingly close. It was only as this game entered its final 15 minutes, with the hosts on their third formation of the afternoon and anxiety mounting in the stands, that West Brom finally cracked. Cesc Fàbregas, flung on in desperation as a central playmaker in the rejigged lineup, lofted a hopeful pass down the right which Gareth McAuley would have expected to repel. He had spent most of the afternoon doing just that, shepherding the ball away to safety with allies forever close by but, on this occasion, he was ambushed by the rampaging Diego Costa.
    The forward bustled in, stealing the ball and holding off the centre-half as he attempted to wrest it back, before ripping a glorious shot from a horribly tight angle into the far top corner as Ben Foster edged out to smother. The finish was emphatic, an afternoon’s frustration expunged with one swing of his left boot. “It was a good and maybe fortunate pass, but it was all about Diego for the goal,” said Fàbregas. “He made the pass special, fighting for that ball.” Costa, leaning on his team-mate to interpret, merely warned that there is more to come. That sounded ominous for defenders up and down the division. Chelsea are growing used to the forward saving the day. It was his bullying of Nicolás Otamendi at the Etihad Stadium last Saturday which drew the league leaders level, his flash of opportunism which had claimed the points at Middlesbrough, and his vicious, curling shot which had so deflated Southampton at St Mary’s. There have been 12 goals already this season; November’s Premier League player of the month, such a snarling presence last season, is now a source of inspiration. He had toiled alone for long periods here against the visitors’ imposing rearguard, with little hint of reward en route, but did not grow frustrated, and even offered only a smirk when team-mates became enraged at West Brom’s perceived timewasting. Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur: Premier League – as it happened Read more The Spain international has not been booked since accruing his fourth caution for dissent in Chelsea’s last league loss, at Arsenal on 24 September. The cardless run, Costa’s best for six years, is as remarkable as his goal tally and at this rate it is feasible he might reach the amnesty on New Year’s Day without incurring a ban. “It’s incredible that, after the Arsenal defeat, Diego had four yellow cards and was on the edge, and he has continued to stay on the edge,” said Conte. “I think he can arrive in January without a yellow card. I hope [he does].