COMMENT: The Spain international was in imperious form against Swansea on Saturday to prove that his manager need not concern himself with Manchester City's transfer exploits
In between preparing for Cote d'Ivoire's Africa Cup of Nations opener with Guinea on Tuesday, Wilfried Bony would surely have had half an eye on events at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.
Despite sealing a €35 million move from Swansea to Manchester City this week, the 26-year-old striker would still have been hoping for Garry Monk's men to pick up three points against Chelsea. Champions City have closed the gap at the top in recent weeks, and a Swansea win would have given Manuel Pellegrini's charges the opportunity to replace Chelsea at the summit on Sunday.
Alas, it was not to be. Jose Mourinho admitted he was a fan of Bony in the week, but also took a swipe at City's alleged non-commitment to Financial Fair Play regulations. "The rules are different for [them]," the Portuguese complained, in what was surely nothing more than standard mind games. With Diego Costa to call upon, Mourinho cannot have been truly worried by City's latest purchase.
Costa was instrumental in Chelsea's 5-0 thumping of Swansea, netting twice to bring his season's tally to 17. His combination of energy, movement and physicality makes him a defender's nightmare, and Ashley Williams and Federico Fernandez will not relish coming up against the former Atletico Madrid man again any time soon.
Even though Swansea did not have Bony to call on, this looked a potentially tricky encounter for Chelsea. The Blues ground out a victory here last season, but the Swans have only been beaten twice at the Liberty Stadium so far in 2014-15. Both of those losses had been by narrow margins, too: the last time they were defeated at home by more than one goal came almost exactly a year ago, when Tottenham escaped south Wales with a 3-1 win.
Not that Costa cared. The Spaniard was sensational, his infectious work ethic and harrying of Williams and Fernandez setting the tone from the very first whistle. He was not directly involved in the opener, finished by Oscar after a terrible mistake from Gylfi Sigurdsson, but the pressing of Swansea high up the pitch that led to that goal was largely instigated by Costa.
Nineteen minutes later the €40m man was on the scoresheet himself, providing the finishing touch to a wonderful team move that involved some fantastic interplay between Cesc Fabregas, Willian and Oscar.
His second and Chelsea's third was added soon after, Costa capitalising on a dreadful backpass from Fernandez to comfortably tuck the ball past the hapless Lukasz Fabianski. It was lethal and it was devastating, essentially wrapping up the points for the Blues after barely half an hour of football.
Watching Costa's display for the remainder of the game, however, would suggest that the scores were still level.
Swansea's backline was not given a moment's peace; captain Williams grew visibly frustrated, clashing with Costa early in the second half. As Willian, Oscar, Fabregas and Eden Hazard interchanged marvellously, Costa provided a focal point up top, demanding the ball and seldom making a bad decision once he received it.
There has understandably been much fanfare over Bony this week. The Ivorian is a fantastic frontman with both physical and technical gifts and, lest it be forgotten, was the Premier League's top scorer in the calendar year of 2014.
Saturday, however, served as a reminder that Chelsea are hardly lacking in the striking department. They may not quite have the depth that City do – Didier Drogba is clearly past his best these days, even if Loic Remy is a decent alternative – but in turn, Pellegrini's side do not have the league's top scorer.
That man is Diego Costa, perhaps the best all-round centre-forward in English football. He has pace and aggression, power and technique, aerial ability and composure in front of goal. He is not a false nine, nor a fox in the box, but a blend of all of those qualities and more. He can battle with centre-backs, or he can dazzle them.
Bony's transfer may have won the headlines at the start of the week, but Costa's imperious showing against Swansea has stolen them back at the end of it.
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