No Diego Costa? No problem as Chelsea rolls to 3-0 win at Leicester City

For one Premier League game, Chelsea proved yet again that it can win without Diego Costa.

The $36 million question is whether Antonio Conte and the Blues can win a Premier League title without their irascible front man.

Costa was nowhere to be found at the King Power Stadium on Saturday when Chelsea arrived and then left with a convincing 3-0 victory over Leicester City to register three more points for a Premiership-leading 52, seven ahead of second-place Tottenham Hotspur and eight above Arsenal and idle Liverpool. The Brazilian-turned-Spaniard did not travel due to injury during midweek training (according to Conte) or because of a player-coach rift created by a massive Chinese Super League offer that would lavish Costa with $36 million a year (according to reports in the English press). Conte backed up his story in pregame and postgame interviews.

“He felt a pain in his back and from that moment he didn’t train during the week,” Conte said after the match (via NBC Sports). “This is the truth.”

When pressed to comment on reports of his alleged deteriorating relationship with Costa and the CSL’s supposed swoop for Costa, the Chelsea manager said with a straight face: “I don’t know anything about this. We don’t know anything about this.”

Without his top scorer, Conte kept backup striker Michy Batshuayi on the bench and opted for a “false nine” look, moving Eden Hazard to the middle of a front three with fellow wingers Pedro and Willian. Chelsea responded with two well-worked goals in the sixth and 51st minutes by left wingback Marcos Alonso (who came close to scoring a third when his 64th-minute volley strike buzzed the far post).

The Blues, with 65-percent possession, weren’t going to let Leicester back into the game. A 71st-minute header by Pedro clinched the outcome.

The Blues, in a display of unity, came together as one to celebrate the goals as if to shout to the world that no single individual is bigger than the West London club – all is well, people.

“We showed a great spirit of the team,” Conte said. “All the players tried to help each other.”

But the truth is that Chelsea needs Diego Costa to continue this rampant run toward its sixth top-flight crown and fifth Premiership trophy in the golden age of Roman Abramovich. The obvious proof is the simple math: If subtracted, Costa’s goal-scoring power and prowess (14 league goals, tied for first with Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez) can’t be replaced by anyone in the current squad. And a by-committee approach won’t cut it, either. The Blues also rely on Costa’s sheer strength and relentless drive, especially when they need to grind out results when they’re not playing their “A” game – and on those cold, rainy nights at Stoke, of course.

Maybe Conte and Costa kiss and make up and put this controversy behind them. Or, Costa gets his wish to become the signature signing of the Chinese Super League’s shopping spree. The latter would surely signal the most dangerous threat yet to Chelea’s title hopes this season. It’s exactly what the other Premier League title contenders needed to close the gap.

That is, until the Blues dig into their own deep pockets and start doing a little unsettling of big-name stars themselves.