Diego Costa was lucky not to be sent off as Chelsea reached Wembley thanks to a dramatic Capital One Cup semi-final win over Liverpool on Tuesday night.
Branislav Ivanovic’s extra-time header was enough to seal a 2-1 aggregate win for Jose Mourinho’s team after a stormy encounter at Stamford Bridge.
But Costa could face action after TV cameras showed him stamping on Emre Can and later clashing with Martin Skrtel and Steven Gerrard. The striker could miss Saturday’s clash with Manchester City if the FA ban him.
Mourinho defended Costa, saying: ‘He goes to the ball, he chases it, the opponent goes to the floor and he puts his foot there when he is looking at the ball.’
The Chelsea manager also revived his conspiracy theory, this time claiming a Sky pundit, believed to be Sportsmail columnist Jamie Redknapp, is waging a campaign against his team.
‘I don’t know what you understand by a stamp,’ he said. ‘Maybe you are already influenced by the campaign on the television with certain pundits saying Costa has committed a crime — the guy who says that must be nuts. ‘It is a great campaign. We know how much that pundit loves Chelsea. You are a manager, on the bench, and these guys have a good seat, earning a lot of money, no pressure.
‘They are never wrong, they have to be fair and they have to be honest.’
Chelsea are through to their first final of the new Mourinho era and will face either Sheffield United or Tottenham in the Wembley showcase on March 1.
Mourinho, who has injury concerns over Cesc Fabregas (hamstring), Felipe Luis (calf) and Ivanovic (ankle), claims his team deserved to win.
He said: ‘Liverpool were creating more than us. We had to be intelligent and wait for the right moment. When we scored the team showed maturity and control.’
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said: ‘We were the better team over the two legs. It hurts because we put so much into it.’
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