Ultimately, Neil’s men had left themselves too much work to do as their winless run of form extended to eight matches, which in turn has seen them drop into the relegation zone with 11 games left to play
Browsing: Diego Costa
Chelsea were on the back-foot from the word go and United won a succession of early corners, but none of them caused the Blues any real problems
The Spain international was taken to hospital after the match at Stamford Bridge having been forced to limp off with 10 minutes remaining
It was the hosts who had the first sight of goal on a dreary afternoon in the capital as Wilfried Zaha drilled an effort a yard wide of the target after Eden Hazard had been dispossessed deep inside his own half
As the Spanish striker bore down on goal, his shot deflected off Iker Casillas and into the unwitting Ivan Mercano, who couldn’t prevent the ball from deflecting into the back of the net, despite the best efforts of Maicon to clear it
The hosts dominated the first half but were unable to find the back of the net, as Cesc Fabregas and John Terry missed the target, while John Ruddy produced a good save to keep out Willian
The incident, which saw the Spaniard seemingly dig his boot into Skrtel’s chest, took place during the Blues’ 1-3 loss at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon
Riding a three-match winning streak into the North East, though, beating the Blues is much more daunting now than it might have been a matter of weeks ago
Spain international, Costa, appeared to take a swipe at opposition player, Laurent Koscielny, in an incident that was not spotted by referee Mike Dean
The Blues received a big boost prior to kickoff with news that Manchester City, their closest challengers in the Premier League title race, had slipped up against Liverpool, and perhaps buoyed by that it was they who made the more positive start in the English capital
Diego Costa will play no part in Saturday’s headline Premier League clash between Chelsea and Manchester City, while creator-in-chief, Cesc Fabregas, is in doubt
The hosts were composed in the opening stages, passing the ball around confidently, but the Magpies were first to register a chance on goal when Moussa Sissoko scuffed a shot into the hands of Petr Cech
The win also lifts Spurs above rivals, Arsenal, into fifth place, with Mauricio Pochettino’s side now just two points adrift of the top four
With the minimum of fuss he chested down and volleyed home Oscar’s cross after a disastrous attempt to play offside that left the visiting team stationary, appealing for in vain for a flag
Midfielder Emre Can’s first goal since his summer move from Bayer Leverkusen had given Liverpool an early lead but it has not been a situation they have been comfortable with all season
Hazard converted a penalty to give his side the lead before Costa fired in his ninth league goal of the season to secure all three points for Jose Mourinho’s men
performance at Goodison Park, taking a 2-0 lead after three minutes and then scoring three more times in a chaotic 11-minute spell in the second half
The transfer fee was not disclosed but the 25-year-old Brazilian-born player’s buyout clause at Atletico was about 40 million euros ($54.56 million)