Courtois expects Costa to continue scoring spree

REUTERS – Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois backed team mate Diego Costa to continue his goalscoring spree after the striker scored the winner in Sunday’s 1-0 Premier League victory over bitter rivals Arsenal.

Costa has struggled to recapture the form he displayed on his debut season, when he netted 20 goals in 26 league appearances to lead Chelsea to the league title.

The 27-year-old appears to have found his scoring touch since Guus Hiddink replaced Jose Mourinho at the helm at Stamford Bridge, scoring six goals in as many appearances in all competitions.

“We knew that when he scored a few goals again he would go on and score more, and I think he has confidence,” Courtois told the club website (www.chelseafc.com).

“He’s a top striker and he will score more goals for us, this was a big one.”

Chelsea still languish in the 13th place in the league table but midfielder Nemanja Matic was optimistic they can maintain the recent form they have displayed during their eight-game unbeaten run in all competitions.

“This was the real Chelsea, and I believe that we can show again in the future that we deserve to play for this club,” Matic said.

“Of course we are not in a good position in the table but there are a lot of games until the end of the season and we have chance to show our quality.”

Chelsea face second tier side Milton Keynes Dons in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday.

(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)