Chelsea fans applaud Diego Costa on Wolves striker's Stamford Bridge return

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Diego Costa was clapped by Chelsea fans as he left the pitch on his return to Stamford Bridge as a Wolves player on Saturday

Diego Costa applauds the Chelsea fans and is clapped by Blues supporters on his return to Stamford Bridge with Wolves.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Diego Costa was generously applauded by Chelsea fans on his return to Stamford Bridge with Wolves on Saturday.

The Brazil-born forward, who signed for Wolves after a trial In September, was handed his first start for the club on Saturday following a substitute appearance in the 2-0 defeat against West Ham last weekend.

Costa could do little to prevent his old club from coming out on top in an ultimately one-sided contest and was substituted with his side 2-0 down after goals from Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic either side of the break.

But instead of taking the direct route off, the 34-year-old chose to walk around the end of the pitch and past all the Chelsea fans after 57 minutes of the Premier League clash in west London.

He was applauded enthusiastically by the Chelsea supporters as he walked past them and responded by clapping those fans.

The former Spain striker scored 59 goals in 120 appearances for the Blues and was a Premier League winner under Jose Mourinho in 2014/15.

Costa had been a free agent since rescinding his contract with Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro in January.

Chelsea went on to win the game 3-0, with Albania striker Armando Broja on target with his first Blues goal late in the game.

Ben Hayward
Ben Hayward
Weekend editor

Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.