Atletico Madrid vs Chelsea
It just had to be, didn’t it?!
Of all the football games, what is the first fixture immediately after Chelsea announce the sale of Diego Costa back to his much-loved Atletico Madrid?
Yes, you guessed it sports betting fans.
Perhaps that was the point.
At least now a summer of brooding, claim and counter-claim can be put to bed before they renew hostilities.
A summer which began with Costa claiming he had been told by text message he was no longer in the plans of manager Antonio Conte.
When the combustible striker then said he’d like to return to Atletico, he provoked amusement by claiming he had been ‘treated like a criminal’ when Chelsea demanded an ‘impossible fee’ for his departure.
He then went absent after refusing to return for pre-season training.
Whatever the truth, there was no way back for the 28-year-old who now has his dream return, while Chelsea may breathe a sigh of relief to have off-loaded him.
With Costa now gone, initially on loan as a FIFA imposed transfer ban means he can’t play for Atletico until January, the scene is set for a titanic tussle between two of the big hitters in a tough Group C.
Chelsea may have beaten them handsomely when they first met in the Champions League in 2009, but it’s been the Spanish side which has enjoyed their meetings ever since.
Included in that, the 2014 Champions League semi-finals, when Atletico came from behind to win at Stamford Bridge; and the 2012 European Super Cup Final when a Radamel Falcao hat-trick inspired Atletico.
So onto this week and the new Wanda Metropolitano stadium that Diego Simeone’s men now call home.
Funny isn’t it?
The one man who will take up most of the column and internet inches before a ball is kicked won’t even be playing.
I expect him to be watching though!
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