Chelsea have issued a champions response to their 2-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester United last week, giving Tottenham Hotspur what-for at Wembley in the semi-final of the FA Cup whilst re-asserting their dominance over their title rivals in the Premier League with a stunning 4-2 win over Southampton.
But they beat Tottenham 4-2 in the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday before overcoming Southampton by the same scoreline on Tuesday to turn up the heat on Spurs, who visit Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
"I think we passed a big, big step", Conte told reporters at Stamford Bridge.
He said: "In this part of the season, we are totally involved in the game".
Even as the goals dried up and the uncertainty about Costa's future persisted, manager Antonio Conte never doubted his striker's ability to make an impact in the title run-in. "The goals are their life, but, for me, I've always said I've been pleased with his commitment, his work for the team", said Conte, whose side face sixth-placed Everton on Sunday.
"It's important to continue to stay together and to understand this moment and to be ready to push our team in the right way".
And yet the west London club seemed so relaxed about its advantage that captain John Terry had been brought on for his first league appearance since November and first since announcing he would be leaving at the end of the season.
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Yet Costa had saved the best for last, with the striker embarking on a mazy run to trade passes with first Hazard and then Cesc Fabregas, before taking two touches to pull away from the Southampton defence and ease the ball past goalkeeper Fraser Forster to cap a sublime move. And then, former Chelsea midfielder Oriol Romeu netted for the Saints in the 24th minute to level the match at 1-0.
His performance was a ten out of ten and it's obvious that he enjoyed it as much as we did, because the two Chelsea players that have got the most criticism lately - Costa and Cahill - both scored in yesterday's game to prove those haters wrong.
There was still time for Chelsea to concede a second as Cedric Soares' cross was headed in by ex-Blues man Bertrand.
But manager Claude Puel, whose side remain ninth, drew encouragement from the moments of discomfort the visitors managed to cause Chelsea. "This made the difference", Puel said. After a rampant first season in England in 2014/15 when he scored 20 league goals for Chelsea, Costa was among the players who most openly clashed with then manager Jose Mourinho last season and angry fans booed him after Mourinho was sacked.
Conte was typically animated on the touchline, at one point kicking a medical bag sitting beside the dug-out after Chelsea left Gabbiadini unmarked at a second-half corner.
"In that moment I wanted to kick the ball and I took the bag as a ball, because sometimes I want to play". I'm sure my players are focused on our targets.
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