Football
Miguel Delaney 10y

Diego Costa to start for Chelsea against Manchester City

LONDON -- Diego Costa will start for Chelsea against Manchester City despite not being fully fit, Jose Mourinho has confirmed.

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Costa has struggled with hamstring problems since May but has still opened his Chelsea career with a remarkable seven goals in four games.

When asked whether he will to play when the Blues travel to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, Mourinho said: "Yes."

He added: "Everybody is ready to play. Diego is not in the best condition, but he will start the game. He plays this game, he cannot play against Bolton [in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday]. It's as simple as that."

Mourinho refused to be drawn on whether the Spain international's use by Atletico Madrid towards the end of last season contributed to his issues. The striker had to go off early in both the title decider on the last day of the Spanish season and then the Champions League final.

"I don't want to speak about that," Mourinho said. "He was at Atletico Madrid last season. This injury was from the national team. The player is amazing, his attitude is amazing. Clearly, we have to try and protect him until he gets completely fit."

Mourinho also said that Chelsea are not yet the complete team. Costa's goals and Cesc Fabregas's assists have greatly enhanced their strike rate, but the side have so far conceded six goals in four games.

"You always try and improve in every aspect," he said. "The perfect situation is to score a lot of goals and not concede. We have to chase that perfection. At this moment we are happy: four games in the Premier League, four victories.

"The result was not the one we wanted in the Champions League [with the 1-1 draw at home to Schalke], but it's no time to panic. We are happy with what we're doing, but it's September. We have to try and improve all the time."

Asked whether his side have now caught up with the champions in terms of quality, Mourinho merely said his side have improved.

"I don't want to compare," he said. "I just want to say that I feel our squad is better than last season. We have more solutions. We got a couple of players with qualities which we didn't have last season.

"We feel that, with our squad, even in a short squad of 21 players [plus under-21 players], we have a good balance, a good squad and we're happy with that."

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