Diego Costa scores five minutes into Atletico Madrid return

The striker did not wait long to make his impact felt, picking up a goal in his first game back with the La Liga club

Diego Costa did not wait long before he endeared himself to the Atletico Madrid faithful once more.

In his first game available for the club since his fall transfer from Chelsea was agreed upon, Costa was on the bench to begin Atletico’s Copa del Rey match against Lleida Esportiu.

He entered the game in the 64th minute to make his first appearance in an official game for Atletico since the end of the 2013-14 season.

Article continues below

Editors' Picks

Sarri vindicated for dropping Kepa as Chelsea & Pedro impress in Spurs win Magnificent Mane takes centre stage as league leaders Liverpool put on a five-star show Lukaku sends reminder that his Man Utd career is far from over Man City monitoring Barcelona & Chelsea target Jovic

And five minutes later, Costa was on the scoresheet as he managed to steer home a low cross from Juanfran.

That Costa goal made Atletico’s lead an even more-comfortable 3-0. They went on to win the first-leg contest 4-0. 

There was some concern, however, as Costa appeared to suffer an injury on the play. Thankfully for the striker, he was able to return to the match.

It was Costa’s first goal for Atletico since April 2014, which he scored against Chelsea, his future team.

Costa would leave that season for London in a €40 million deal, spending the next three seasons with the Blues, and winning two Premier League titles.

He returned to Atletico this fall in a deal worth a reported €66 million, and will hope to build on a club career that included a La Liga and Copa del Rey title.