As the adage goes, one man’s misery is another man’s fortune.
The Football Association's decision to hand Chelsea striker Diego Costa a three-match ban for his antics against Arsenal last weekend has not pleased Jose Mourinho and the club's supporters, but one man of a Chelsea persuasion who will have been happy with the news is Radamel Falcao.
The Colombia international, on loan from AS Monaco, has found it hard to get on the pitch this season; he has played just 73 minutes in the Premier League so far. But he now has been handed an opportunity to impress.
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It remains to be seen whether Falcao, 29, can recapture the blistering form from his Atletico Madrid days, when he was perhaps the world’s greatest centre-forward. Injuries have robbed him of his burst of speed and acceleration, while his link-up play and back-to-goal work has always been relatively weak.
The excellent header he netted in last month’s 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace will give Chelsea fans hope. Falcao brilliantly nodded home Pedro’s whipped cross from a tight angle, demonstrating a predatory instinct that, regardless of issues of form and fitness, rarely deserts a marksman of his skill.
Like many members of the champions’ squad, Costa has been below his best so far this term. His ruffling of Gabriel last Saturday may have facilitated a Chelsea victory, but the Brazil-born striker seems to have been more preoccupied with infuriating opponents than scoring goals in the opening weeks of the campaign. Despite Mourinho’s protestations, he and Costa can have no complaints at the player’s suspension for violent conduct.
Costa’s former strike partner at Atletico – Falcao was the senior man in the relationship, back then – will look to take full advantage of the former’s absence at Newcastle United on Saturday.
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