Chelsea ease past Wolves as Diego Costa fails to fire on Stamford Bridge return

Diego Costa did not get the chance to say goodbye to the Chelsea support when he left the club under such a cloud in 2017 after his falling out with the manager at the time, Antonio Conte. The centre-forward was able to do so here – only not as he might have wanted.

Costa’s full debut for Wolves was low on impact and his team were 2-0 down and heading for another defeat when he saw his number go up on 56 minutes. To the arch-competitor, it must have stung.

Still, Costa decided to enjoy the moment. He was on the opposite side to the dugouts and so he took the scenic route around the pitch and in front of the Matthew Harding Stand as play resumed. After two Premier League titles and 52 goals in 89 league appearances for Chelsea, his place in the hearts of the fans is assured and how they serenaded him.

There were smiles from Costa, high fives for a few supporters, and quite what those in the visiting enclosure made of it is anyone’s guess.

Costa, though, was merely the sideshow, however entertaining. The story here was of another assured Chelsea performance, hard on the heels of the 3-0 Champions League win over Milan last Wednesday. That and Wolves’ continued travails in the final third.

They remain stuck on three league goals for the season, which was a big part of why they sacked Bruno Lage last Sunday. Under the interim manager, Steve Davis, they created a few good openings but it never looked as if they had the needed conviction. When Adama Traoré crossed for Costa’s replacement, Hwang Hee-chan, in the 70th minute, opportunity knocked. The space was there but the finish was weak. It summed things up for Wolves.

Chelsea were value for the victory, which was sparked by Kai Havertz’s looping header in first-half stoppage