Diego Costa Defends Jose Mourinho, Admits Starting Chelsea's Season Overweight

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Chelsea striker Diego Costa has hit back at criticism of manager Jose Mourinho following the Blues' poor start to the new term and admitted he returned "overweight" for pre-season training.

The defending Premier League champions have won only twice in eight matches in 2015-16 and currently lie 16th in the English top flight, which has led to Mourinho's methods being questioned, per Tony Banks in the Express.

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However, Costa believes Mourinho is being unfairly blamed for Chelsea's woes and suggested the Portuguese manager's directness invites unfounded criticism, per Darren Lewis in the Mirror:


When things don’t go the way that everyone expects, people—the supporters as well—always look for someone to blame. In some cases, they blame the players. In this case they blame the manager, maybe because the manager is Mourinho. ... There’s no doubt it’s because of the way he is. He’s very direct, very straightforward. He always speaks what he thinks and what he believes to be the truth. Sometimes it’s not what people want to hear. It’s the way he is and it’s why sometimes they criticise him.

Certainly Mourinho's combative style is not to everyone's liking, but he is far from blameless for Chelsea's poor early-season form.

He has chopped and changed his team dramatically, sporadically benching key players like John Terry, Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic, and Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe has branded him the Premier League's most disappointing manager so far this season:


Costa has largely survived Mourinho's frantic rotation in 2015-16, although he did miss out on three of Chelsea's most recent matches after picking up a ban following the Blues' defeat of Arsenal.

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The 27-year-old has been significantly less effective this term than he was while winning the Premier League in his debut season with Chelsea in 2014-15.

Costa has accepted responsibility for his poor form by admitting he returned for pre-season "a little bit overweight," a factor that has had an adverse effect on his game, per the Daily Mail's Matt Barlow.


He is far from the only Chelsea player to have under-performed in the new campaign, but considering Mourinho's dearth of quality alternative options up front, the Spaniard's lack of form has been noticeable.

Costa has not been called up to the Spain squad for their two upcoming Euro 2016 qualifiers, per the Sunday World's Kevin Palmer:


With Chelsea not playing again until a clash against Aston Villa on October 17, the forward should now have time to work on his fitness and improve his play.

An in-form Costa would be a godsend for Mourinho and could perhaps prove the catalyst in turning around Chelsea's desperately poor season so far.