Goals are his life - Chelsea boss Conte delighted to see Costa back on target

Diego Costa's work rate throughout his recent goal
drought won deep admiration from Chelsea coach
Antonio Conte.
Spain striker Costa scored for the first time in eight
matches to give the Premier League leaders a two-
goal cushion during the second half of Tuesday's
match against Southampton, moving on to 50
career goals in England's top flight.
He added a superb second as Chelsea secured a
4-2 win to go seven points clear of Tottenham at
the summit, with their nearest rivals in action
against Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
"It's normal for the strikers that it is important to
score. The goals are their life," he told a post-
match news conference, having also seen Costa
lay on the fifth-minute opener for Eden Hazard.
"But, for me, I've always said I've been pleased
with his commitment, his work for the team. He
always worked for the team.
"Sometimes he was unlucky in different
circumstances, but I was always confident about
him.
"After the Tottenham game, I said I'm sure he's
keeping his goals for the final weeks of the season.
"Now he must continue. He's very important for us.
His confidence is very important for us.
"He scored two very beautiful goals, good
combination and technique between him and his
team-mates."
And that's @diegocosta 's 50th Premier
League goal for the Blues! #CHESOU
pic.twitter.com/pj03A2zCQJ
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 25,
2017
The warm words made the rumoured rift between
the two in January, when Costa was linked with a
move to the Chinese Super League, seem a long
time ago.
Conte did not wish to discuss the former Atletico
Madrid star's long-term future, with his sole focus
resting on the title race.
"I continue to repeat this concept: it's important to
be focused on the moment because the moment is
very important for all of us," he said.
"In this period, I'm reading a lot of speculation
about every one of us. It's right to be focused.
"I'm sure my players are focused on our targets.
It's normal at this part of the season to have
someone who wants to put problems in your team,
to create also disorder, but we must be stronger
than this speculation.
"We must be compact and think our target is really
important than the other teams'."
One player who will not be around next season is
club captain John Terry, whose late substitute
cameo was his first Chelsea appearance since
announcing he would end his career-long
association with the club earlier this month.
"John, for us, is a really important player," Conte
added "He is doing a great job this season. For
sure, it's not easy for him.
"This season, he's not playing a lot. Above all, for
this, I want to thank John but he knows my
admiration for him.
"He's helping me a lot, but not only me. Also the
team, every single player, and he's always
available to accept every one of my decisions.
"When you have this type of player, you must be
pleased. For me, it will be a great loss next season
to lose a player like this."