Conte insists playing Costa the ‘best decision’ for Chelsea

Oli Fisher
Antonio Conte: Hopeful about Costa

Antonio Conte gave little away on the Diego Costa situation, while admitting his team fought hard to win against Hull.

A first-half strike from the returning Costa put Antonio Conte’s side ahead, before Gary Cahill added a second against a spirited Hull side.

Conte did not give much away when questioned about the returning Costa, insisting he made the decision to restore him to the side solely for the benefit of the team.

He said: “His performance was good and I put him back in for this reason. There were a lot of people asking me about him before the game, but I said I will make the best decision for the team, and I think I made the best decision.”

On the game, he added: “This league is very difficult. We faced the game in the right way, but now it’s important to continue and know in every game we must fight a lot to win and gain the points.”

Marco Silva was encouraged by a good performance from his side, which nonetheless sees them just one point off the bottom of the table.

“The result is not what we wanted from the game,” he said. “We came here to compete and try and take points.

“(It was a) good performance, but I want more from my team.”