Soccer

Diego Costa labelled ‘a fraud’ by Paris Saint-Germain

French club’s Twitter account label Chelsea striker ahead of Champions League tie

Chelsea’s Diego Costa during a training session at Stoke D’Abernon. Photograph: Adam Davy/PA
Chelsea’s Diego Costa during a training session at Stoke D’Abernon. Photograph: Adam Davy/PA
Dominic Fifield
Tue Mar 08 2016 - 16:14

Diego Costa has been labelled a "fraud" by Paris Saint-Germain's official Twitter feed on the eve of the second leg of Chelsea's Champions League knockout tie with the runaway French league leaders.

The club’s official account, jokingly if provocatively, tweeted a Vine just before 3pm on Tuesday under the message: “Have you found the hero? Okay, now find the imposter!”

The supporting video flicked through various masked movie characters and superheroes, from Batman to Zorro, Spiderman to Darth Vader, Iron Man to Kylo Ren and included Costa, sporting his own facial protection, in their number. Written across the bottom of the screen was the provocative strap-line: “Spot the fraud”.

Costa broke his nose in an inadvertent training ground clash with the young defender, Fikayo Tomori, last month and flew to Milan to have a special mask fitted.

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The forward missed Chelsea's draw with Stoke City in the Premier League on Saturday with a minor tendon problem, but trained at Cobham with his team-mates on Tuesday morning and will start the second leg of the clubs' Champions League tie, in which the Premier League side currently trail 2-1. The Spain international, who was actually linked with a summer move to PSG this week, has scored 10 goals in 14 appearances under Guus Hiddink but has found life tougher in European competition since moving from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2014.

The 27-year-old has mustered a solitary goal in 14 Champions League appearances for Chelsea, his only reward coming in September's trouncing of Maccabi Tel Aviv in the group stage, having previously proved prolific for Atletico in the competition to help the Spanish club to the final two years ago. He had managed eight in nine appearances en route to the 2014 final, from which he departed early with a hamstring problem as Atletico lost 4-1 to Real Madrid after extra-time.

PSG had earlier tweeted another video montage, asking fans to “spot your real hero” with an image of Thiago Silva celebrating at Stamford Bridge in last year’s tie between the clubs in amongst the masked characters.

Guardian services