At odds: Martin Skrtel and Diego Costa
Chelsea Football Newsletter
Diego Costa and Martin Skrtel renewed their long-standing feud as they lined up opposite one another in a legends charity match at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea and Liverpool both sent star-studded squads of club legends to play a fundraiser for the Chelsea and LFC Foundations, but Costa and Skrtel’s approach to the match was not quite in the spirit of the occasion.
The pair’s rivalry extends back to 2015, when the pair squared up to one another in a League Cup outing.
Diego Costa and Martin Skrtel have a long-standing rivalry
Costa came away from the match with a three-game ban for allegedly stamping on the Slovakian and his team-mate, Emre Can.
Later that year, the Spaniard kicked out at Skrtel after a crunching challenge, escaping retribution despite appearing to catch his mark in the chest.
Ten years down the line, there was still no love lost between the pair.
Costa received the ball with his back to the Liverpool goal, about 35 yards out, but, before he could pick a pass, the now 40-year-old Skrtel subjected him to an uncompromising tackle from behind.
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Costa sprang to his feet and squared up to the Liverpool defender, who got off scot-free.
Moments later, Costa exacted vengeance, clattering Skrtel with a body slam. He continued to exchange verbals with the Slovak as he was shown a yellow card before a crop of his team-mates arrived on the scene to cool tensions.
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The pair seemed to make up at full time, though, with Costa sharing a photo on his Instagram page of himself and Skrtel posing at an afterparty accompanied by a heart emoji.
Martin Skrtel and Diego Costa put their differences aside
Ryan Babel scored the only goal of the match late in the second half, finishing smartly on a counter-attack to secure victory for Liverpool.
Joining Costa on the Chelsea legends side were a crop of Champions League winners, including John Terry and Gary Cahill, with Eden Hazard returning in attack.