Diego Costa has his name engraved in the history of San Mamés, although it is not a good memory for the Athletic fans. The Lions They opened their new stadium on September 16, 2013 defeating Celta 3-2 and since then they turned their field into a fort, with 10 wins and two draws in their first 12 games … until Atlético and Diego Costa arrived.
The rojiblanco team He had won 1-0 at Vicente Calderón in the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals with a goal from Godín, but Athletic relied on their strength at home to turn the tie around. On January 29, 2014, Aduriz's goal to open the scoreboard lifted the stadium and made believe that they could see an Atlético fall who was already putting the cruising speed in a historic season that would end the League championship and the dispute of the Champions League final.
However, those of Simeone, supported by a great Courtois in goal, turned the scoreboard in the first instance from a goal by Raúl García, now a local in San Mamés, and with the both from Diego Costa in the 85th minute sitting Iago Herrerín in hand to hand to sentence the tie and steal the first victory of the new cathedral. More than four months after its premiere, Athletic fell for the first time at home and it was against Atlético that they would repeat the play soon after with a vital victory for the title's aspirations.
Same script in League
If Atlético was the first team to win at San Mamés, the first to do so in the league was Espanyol on February 16, 2014 on match day 24. But the second who could achieve what was then a feat would be Atlético again, on matchday 31, tracing the game again and achieving a victory at the end capital to win the title. And of course with Diego Costa, protagonist in the match, in this case to tie Muniain's initial goal.
The Spanish-Brazilian received from Koke and this time he surpassed Iraizoz defining perfectly after once again showing his power in the race, once again surpassing the whole rear with an extraordinary shape, the best of his career. It would be Koke himself who would put the second to get the three points and start dreaming now with all the strength to end up achieving a historic milestone with the League title reaching 90 points. In the first leg Atlético had won 2-0 with another goal from Diego Costa, the great executioner of Athletic that season.
Since his return to Atlético, the '19' He has seen the faces with the Bilbao team four times, scoring a goal and with a balance of three wins and one loss, the one harvested last season in San Mamés. Now he returns to the Athletic fiefdom as holder after demonstrating in training in great shape despite coronavirus pandemic and wanting to show that he still has a lot to give the rojiblanco club, starting with a stadium that will not have its people, but that will not forget the name of Diego Costa.