How Diego Costa gives Chelsea the finishing touch

 

I am backing Jose Mourinho's side to win the Premier League title this season and I am looking forward to seeing how his summer signings fit in.

Savage's Chelsea team to face Burnley

                                                      

The Blues' new left-back Filipe Luis might have to wait for regular football because their defence was the best in the country last time out.

But Cesc Fabregas adds another attacking threat to their midfield and, up front, another new arrival Diego Costa is the missing piece in the jigsaw.

For me, Chelsea are clear favourites and they could end up winning the title by five or six points.

Costa completes Mourinho's construction

When they finished third last season, Chelsea had more shots than champions Manchester City and only 10 fewer than second-placed Liverpool, and managed a similar ratio on target, but the Blues scored 30 fewer goals than both the teams who finished above them.

2013-14 Premier League (and ranking)
Team	Shots	Shots on target	Goals
Source: Opta
Man City	508 (3)	238 (2)	102 (1)
Liverpool	521 (1)	258 (1)	101 (2)
Chelsea	511 (2)	229 (3)	71 (3)

Chelsea's strength was their defence last season - in their 38 games they had more clean sheets (18) than any other team and conceded the fewest goals (27).

But they were still a threat going forward - it was just that they just did not take enough of their chances. If they had had a better centre-forward then I think they would have won the league quite comfortably.

Chelsea's strikers - and Diego Costa - in the Premier League and La Liga 2013-14
	Costa	Samuel Eto'o	Fernando Torres	Demba Ba
Source: Opta
Games	35	21	28	19
Goals	27	9	5	5
Assists	3	2	5	1

If you look at the players Mourinho has brought in over the summer, then I think he has solved that problem.

Costa was prolific for Atletico Madrid as they won La Liga and reached the Champions League final but he is not just a goalscorer - he can lead the line on his own, create chances and also bully opposing defenders.

In terms of his physical stature and aggression, Costa suits the Premier League down to the ground and can play the same role for Chelsea that Didier Drogba did during Mourinho's first spell at Chelsea.

                                       

                                        Chelsea paid £32m to sign Spain striker Costa from Atletico Madrid

My only worry about him is that he might get distracted by his personal battle with defenders who try to wind him up.

I have watched him a lot in La Liga and saw him react a few times this season. You can bet that players will be trying the same thing now he is in England. He only got 10 goals in each of his previous two seasons at Atletico and he will have to concentrate on the goalscoring aspect of his game.

Having Costa up front means that Chelsea can now mix it physically all over the pitch, but they can also play fantastic football.

I played against Fabregas a few times and he strengthens them perfectly in midfield.

His awareness, vision and creativity is top class and, despite not being the quickest, he is also sharp over the first couple yards.

He created so many chances at Arsenal that he is still one of the leading assist-makers in the Premier League over the last 10 years despite having been at Barcelona since 2011.

Premier League assists since August 2004
Player	Assists	Games played
Source: Opta
1. Frank Lampard	79	316
2. Wayne Rooney	77	307
3. Cesc Fabregas	70	212
4. Steven Gerrard	64	305
5. Ryan Giggs	60	257

He does not mind getting stuck in either, although I don't think the Arsenal team he played for enjoyed it when they had to come to Ewood Park when I was at Blackburn. We used to really wind them up.

Fabregas really didn't like that, and I always felt I could get at him that way when he was younger, but he has always had a bit of class about him - I will never forget him nut-megging me in the corner for one of Arsenal's goals during a 6-2 win over Rovers in 2006. He was only a teenager then too.

                                                       

                                                              Chelsea paid a fee in the region of £30m to sign Fabregas from Barcelona

Signing him means they have got everything really - Fabregas offers them that bit of creativity, while his partner Nemanja Matic can cover the centre-halves. In the wide areas they have got plenty of pace and then they have Drogba as an impact player coming off the bench.

They look so powerful and dynamic. This is Mourinho's team now, and I would say they are the clear stand-out team in the Premier League.