• Premier League

'Costa is a nightmare for defenders'

Diego Costa has been hailed by his new Chelsea team-mates as a "nightmare" for Premier League defenders after his blistering start to life in England.

Costa, who signed from Atletico Madrid this summer for £32 million, scored twice in Saturday's thrilling 6-3 victory over Everton to add to his goals against Burnley and Leicester.

Didier Drogba, back at Stamford Bridge for a second spell, has been highly impressed.

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"Diego Costa has started very well," Drogba told the Daily Mirror. "He looks special. He's scoring goals and helping the team."

Chelsea have seen a host of high-profile strikers fail to make their mark during the Roman Abramovich era, including Andriy Shevchenko and Fernando Torres.

Even Drogba endured a difficult introduction to the club after signing from Marseille a decade ago, with just 10 league goals in his first season, and the striker added: "He's settled right in - and he's started much better than I did!"

Chelsea full-back Cesar Azpilicueta said he had been impressed with the striker when coming up against him during last season's Champions League semi-final against Atletico.

"I played against him last season and I knew he is a good striker," Azpilicueta said. "We are happy to have him in our team.

"He's a competitive guy who always tries his best for the team. He's a nightmare for defenders. He's a worker. He saw the space to cover for me on the left wing and that is the most important thing to play as a team."

Costa, meanwhile, hopes the goals keep coming after helping Chelsea to three wins out of three at the start of the new season.

"It's nice to score goals but, for me, the most important thing is that the team wins," he said. "I'm happy that I can score and help the team. I just hope I can continue like this."