Middlesbrough 0 Chelsea 1: Diego Costa 'punished' Boro, admits Aitor Karanka - 'You can’t lose him for one second'

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Standard Sport21 November 2016

Aitor Karanka was left to rue a defensive "mistake" as Diego Costa made Middlesbrough pay to earn Chelsea a 1-0 win at the Riverside Stadium on Sunday.

Boro failed to clear their lines from a deflected corner four minutes before half-time, with Costa reacting quickest to beat Karanka's defenders to the ball and volley the only goal of the game past Victor Valdes.

The victory was Chelsea's sixth in a row and secured top spot in the table for Antonio Conte's men, but Karanka feels Boro pushed the Blues all the way despite a disappointing result.

Karanka - who had backed Chelsea as title favourites ahead of the match - told Sky Sports: "I can’t tell you I’m pleased with the result after we have lost the game.

"But I am pleased with the attitude of my players.

"We are playing against a top-of-the-table team, so we knew it was going to be difficult.

"In the Premier League, any mistake is going to be punished.

"It was from a set piece, and it is for that reason that Diego is one of the top scorers in the league.

"You can’t lose him for one second.

"But I do not have anything bad to say about my players.

"We played really well and in the last 20 minutes, at times Chelsea couldn’t leave their box.

"This is the way we played against Arsenal, Bournemouth and Manchester City and we have to keep going."

Boro defender Ben Gibson added of Costa to BBC Sport: "We limited Diego Costa and dealt with him quite well. He is tough, wants to wrestle you and feel you but he finished his one chance."

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