Diego Costa once again starred for Chelsea on Saturday, while Mario Balotelli failed to score his first Premier League goal for Liverpool.
Diego Costa and Mario Balotelli both arrived in the Premier League in the summer transfer window, but the two strikers have had different fortunes so far.
While Chelsea star Costa has been firing on all cylinders and has taken to English football like a duck to water, Liverpool’s Balotelli has consistently struggled.
The pattern continued on Saturday during the Premier League clash between Liverpool and Chelsea at Anfield.
| Team | Goals | Total Shots | Shots on Target | Big Chance Missed | Total Pass | Accurate Pass | Touches | Key Passes | Mins Played | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diego Costa | Chelsea | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 14 | 39 | 4 | 89 |
| Mario Balotelli | Liverpool | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 13 | 30 | 0 | 79 |
While Balotelli huffed and puffed and failed to do anything of note, Spain international striker Costa was a key player for Chelsea.
It was the former Atletico Madrid star’s goal in the 67th minute that proved to be decisive, as the Blues picked up a 2-1 win at Anfield and maintained their four-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.
As stats above show, Costa was involved in the game more than Balotelli and created no fewer than four chances for his teammates.
Balotelli was not the worst Liverpool player on the pitch and has had worse matches this campaign, but he cut a frustrating figure yet again and failed to achieve any kind of consistency during the 79 minutes he was on the pitch.
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