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Chelsea's snarling striker Diego Costa miraculously avoids a sending off in a feisty late win over Stoke

Let us be blunt about this. That Diego Costa came out after half-time was nothing short of astonishing given what had gone before.

He spoiled for a fight from the first whistle. Arguing with anybody close, diving, antagonising this fierce Stoke crowd.

Booked inside 16 minutes for - among other things - a barrage of abuse hurled in Anthony Taylor’s direction, Chelsea’s snarling top scorer tread a tightrope thereafter.

Diego Costa celebrates at the final whistle of his side's 2-1 Premier League win over Stoke
Diego Costa celebrates at the final whistle of his side's 2-1 Premier League win over Stoke

Costa represented a distraction from a pulsating opening half, with Stoke rightly reverting back to the sort of football which unsettled so many bigger clubs all those years ago.