Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers was proud of his team despite its semifinal ouster in the League Cup on Tuesday.
He wasn’t so proud of Diego Costa, however, after the Chelsea man stamped on a pair of Reds during the match. That includes a pretty heinous plant on the ankle of Emre Can.
Chelsea won the match 1-0 (2-1 on aggregate), but will feel fortunate to have escaped with a trip to Wembley Stadium to face the winner of Sheffield United and Tottenham Hotspur.
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That’s because Liverpool provided most of the action, but couldn’t find a second finish over 210 minutes. He credited Blues goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois before his attention was turned to Costa.
From Sky Sports:“I’m very proud of the team. Over the two legs, we were the better side but their goalkeeper has gotten them to the final. At Anfield and here tonight, he’s made some very important saves. The players gave everything. They were dead in the feet at the end. They pressed. Some of the football was fantastic. We created the chances to win the game but unfortunately we weren’t just quite clinical enough.
“Anyone watching would not like to see what Diego Costa do, not just on Martin Skrtel but Emre Can, a young player who was clearly stamped on. Anyone in the game doesn’t want to see that. There’s no need for it. You can easily land somewhere else, not to land directly on an opponent’s ankle. It’s disappointing to see that on the replay, and he was probably very fortunate that the referee or the lineman didn’t see it.”
Rodgers is right, and even if his Reds dodged a pair of early bullets in the form of uncalled penalty kicks for Chelsea, Costa’s form was despicable. He’s quickly become the Premier League’s No. 1 villain, a deadly striker with a temper and diving mentality to match.