Costa eventually returned to Atletico in 2018.
Diego Costa had passed the medical and signed the contract with Atletico in September 2017. However, due to a transfer ban imposed on Atletico, Costa was eligible to play for them only after January 2018.
He took only 5 minutes to register his return with the La Liga giants. He scored after being subbed for Angel Correa in the Copa del Rey in the round-of-16 game against Lleida Esportiu.
Since the turn of the year, Costa has been in good touch. His exploits in the World Cup is a testament to his evolution this season. When Spain was under pressure in the World Cup opener against Portugal, he scored a brace to put them in the driving seat. Unfortunately, Cristiano Ronaldo’s heroics saved the day for Portugal. He went on to score a fantastic 3 goals in the tournament.
An unlikely elimination of Spain by the hosts Russia in the round of 16, prohibited Costa from displaying his class further.
He acted like a quick fox to control the long ball from Diego Godin while edging past Sergio Ramos and then took it past napping Raphael Varane. He was then presented with a golden opportunity in a one on one situation with Keylor Navas. The thumping strike from a tight angle zoomed past Navas only for the mercy of the back of the net.
Diego Costa started the season with a bang.
He saved and helped Atletico to beat arch-rivals Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup with a brace. Real Madrid bounced back and took the lead by 63rd minute. Time was running out for the Los Colchoneros. Costa then positioned himself at the right place at the right time when he got his brace by poking an excellent cross from Angel Correa.
He has always delivered under pressure. The way he has started to score, it is only a matter of time that he gets his due recognition from the football fraternity. It is time Diego Costa should be taken seriously by all the teams across leagues. One should not be surprised if he takes Europe by storm this season. We will have to wait and watch if he could bring Atletico Domestic and European glory.