Chelsea’s Diego Costa (centre) celebrates with team mates John Terry (left) and Eden Hazard after scoring in their EPL match against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in London on Sunday. (Photo: AFP)
Chelsea’s Diego Costa (centre) celebrates with team mates John Terry (left) and Eden Hazard after scoring in their EPL match against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in London on Sunday. (Photo: AFP)
Diego Costa snaffled a stoppage-time equaliser to preserve interim manager Guus Hiddink’s unbeaten record as Chelsea snatched a 1-1 draw at home to Manchester United on Sunday. United looked to be closing to within four points of the Premier League’s top four after Jesse Lingard’s 61st-minute goal set Louis van Gaal’s men on course for a third consecutive win in all competitions.
But in the first of six minutes of injury time, added on for a serious-looking knee injury to Chelsea centre-back Kurt Zouma, Costa rounded David de Gea to score, extending Hiddink’s unbeaten run since succeeding the sacked Jose Mourinho to 10 matches.
“I am happy with the reaction of the team. Manchester United are not an easy team to beat, but we deserved a point,” said Hiddink. On Zouma’s injury, Hiddink said: “Tomorrow we know more, but if you have this injury — and everyone has seen how bad it is — hyper-extension is always bad. I had this same problem once and it hurts.”
Chelsea remain 13th, 17 points below the top four, but while their Champions League qualification hopes have long seemed over, Costa’s goal dealt a weighty blow to embattled United manager Van Gaal.
Van Gaal bullishly dismissed speculation linking Mourinho with his job prior to the game, but he finishes the weekend with his side six points below the top four.
“When your aim is to be third or second or first then you need to win because the gap is already big,” van Gaal told Sky Sports.
“The gap is now bigger than before, so that’s not good.”