He’d shed some of the weight that had been an issue for his whole career, and against Osasuna on April 3, 2011, a Sunday, Atletico Madrid suddenly had a forward who looked born again.
Sergio Aguero was injured, and Diego Forlan had been dropped after only scoring twice in his previous 16 appearances. Diego Costa was about to outdo that in one evening.
A clinical hat-trick won Atletico the game by three goals to two, with Costa stamping his authority all over the match and indeed the Osasuna players, with goalkeeper Ricardo and defender Lolo both feeling the force of the forward’s desire to succeed.