Costa earns kudos from Conte

Chelsea manager hails striker as 'one of the world's best'

Antonio Conte hailed a newly-focused Diego Costa as "one of the best strikers in the world" after the Spaniard's goal at Middlesbrough fired Chelsea to the top of the Premier League table.

Costa scored the only goal of the match at Riverside Stadium, pouncing after a first-half corner rebounded inside the six-yard box. He now tops the Premier League scoring race with 10 goals in 12 games.