• Premier League

Terry shrugs off Costa 'square-up'

ESPN staff
July 16, 2014
Chelsea finally confirm Costa deal

John Terry has lauded Chelsea's capture of Diego Costa from Atletico Madrid after shrugging off their "square-up" in last season's Champions League semi-final.

Chelsea begin pre-season with a bang

Jose Mourinho's Chelsea were back in action © Getty Images
  • John Terry came off the bench to score as Chelsea kicked off their pre-season with a resounding 5-0 win at Wycombe Wanderers.
  • Jose Mourinho, without several of his World Cup stars including new signings Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa, sent out a youthful side including Nathan Ake, Andreas Christiansen, Patrick Bamford and Nathaniel Chalobah for Wycombe forward Matt Bloomfield's testimonial.
  • Bamford, Izzy Brown (2) and Branislav Ivanovic were also on target for Chelsea.

The pair clashed in the first leg between the two sides at the Vicente Calderon in April but Terry says the incident is long forgotten as he welcomed the striker's £32 million arrival.

"Everyone remembers the square-up we had in the first 10 minutes of the first leg of our semi-final game against Atletico Madrid last season, after which I thought 'fair play'," Terry told Chelsea's official website.

Chelsea went on to be eliminated in the second leg at Stamford Bridge with Costa scoring a penalty and Terry got a first-hand look at the striker's talent.

"First of all, his movement and his strength are really good - I was really surprised by it," Terry added.

"He holds the ball up very well, he has got great movement and he is really physical, but he is very clever with his strength and the way he uses his body. He could be a very good signing for us."

Chelsea's raid on La Liga champions Atletico continues with the club confirming they have reached an agreement for left-back Filipe Luis, while Thibaut Courtois will return form a three-year loan spell in Madrid.

It is expected that Atletico midfielder Tiago Mendes will also return to Stamford Bridge, having been signed by Jose Mourinho in his first spell at Chelsea.

John Terry had strong words with Diego Costa at the Vicente Calderon in April © Getty Images
Enlarge
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd
ESPN staff Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices