Fernandinho has named Chelsea striker Diego Cost among his toughest opponents in the Premier League.
The versatile Manchester City man has faced countless top tier players in the Premier League since arriving from Shakhtar, but according to him, there are few as scary to come up against in a game as former Blue terror Costa:
“The most difficult players I’ve faced are Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe,” the Brazilian said, uncontroversially, in quotes picked up by Goal.com.
“But for me, one of the most difficult guys I’ve faced was Diego Costa when he was with Chelsea. He was in good shape. I hope I can face them again,” he went on to reveal.
Now that’s a much more interesting name to bring up, rather than the uncontroversial list of the top 4 players in the last few years.
Costa is not on the same level as those players technically – although his ability on the ball is often underrated – but as a presence on the pitch he was absolutely fearsome in his time at Stamford Bridge. When he was in top physical shape and his energy was directed in the right channels, he was a totally fearsome opposition for anyone, even top class operators like Fernandinho.
Chelsea have massively lacked his presence since he left – Tammy Abraham is a good player but his level is not near Costa’s yet, and there’s a huge amount he can learn from how the former Atletico Madrid man terrorised centre-backs for 3 seasons.