MADRID — Diego Costa was so furious that it was hard to keep him away from the referee. Costa was shown a red card in the 28th minute of a 2-0 loss against Barcelona on Saturday that practically ended Atletico Madrid’s hopes of challenging for the Spanish league title. But what hasn’t been expected from Costa since he rejoined Atletico is his lack of scoring and his poor performances. In his previous stint with Atletico, from 2012-14, Costa scored 56 goals and helped the club win the Spanish league and the Copa del Rey and reach the Champions League final. After Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak forcibly pushed Costa away from the referee, it was Barcelona defender Gerard Pique who had to escort Costa from the field.

Source: National Post April 11, 2019 10:41 UTC