Diego Costa reignited his feud with Martin Skrtel during Chelsea Legends’ charity game against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The former Chelsea striker was back at Stamford Bridge alongside his former teammates including John Terry, Eden Hazard, Petr Cech and Gary Cahill for the match which raised money to support the Chelsea Foundation and the Chelsea Players’ Trust.
Chelsea were beaten by Liverpool as Ryan Babel’s low finish in the 78th minute was the only goal of the game.
But the biggest flashpoint occurred in the first half when Skrtel went through the back of Costa in order to win the ball.
Costa immediately got to his feet and squared up to the former Liverpool centre-back before the referee stepped in to break up the confrontation.
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Costa clearly didn’t forget Skrtel’s challenge and minutes later, the Chelsea striker took his chance to get revenge.
As Skrtel went to receive the ball, Costa went clattering into the back of the Liverpool defender, sending him crashing to the turf.
The crowd cheered but Skrtel was clearly unhappy with the bump from Costa as he angrily pointed his finger towards the 37-year-old.
Costa, who was pulled away from Skrtel by Ramires, was then booked for his tackle before play resumed.
Skrtel and Costa previously clashed in 2015 during Chelsea’s League Cup semi-final against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.
Costa was charged with violent conduct by the Football Association and given a three-match ban for allegedly stamping on Skrtel and Emre Can during the match.
Brendan Rodgers, who was managing Liverpool at the time, criticised Costa for his actions.
‘He has this edge to him. With Emre Can, that was poor, I felt,’ said Rodgers.
‘He could easily hurdle over the young player and he directs his studs right on to his ankle, which could’ve been nasty,’ Rodgers said.
‘Again, the one with Martin Skrtel, there’s no need to do it. That’s the sad thing. He’s a top-class player and he’s clever enough that the officials don’t see it.’
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