Costa was kicked for 94 minutes – Conte

Antonio Conte says Diego Costa “took a lot of kicks” throughout the 94 minutes against Swansea, while he bemoaned Chelsea’s lack of killer instinct.

Costa’s second goal of the game rescued a 2-2 draw late on for Chelsea after a series of defensive lapses had gifted Swansea a 2-1 lead.

The Blues would have been out of sight by half-time if they had taken their chances but their failure to convert allowed Francesco Guidolin‘s men back into the contest.

Conte wasn’t happy with referee Andre Marriner after he failed to give a foul on Gary Cahill just before the Swans scored their second goal.

“We know today we lost two points. We conceded two goals – one after our free-kick – and the second goal I think that everyone can see the situation,” he said, speaking to Sky Sports.

Conte says referees must permit Diego Costa to play his football. #CFC

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 11, 2016

“I don’t want to talk about the decision [for the second Swansea goal] but I think it was a bad decision by the referee.

“I can tell you that Diego Costa from the first minute to 94 minutes… he took a lot of kicks. It’s incredible the defender didn’t finish [sent-off] before the match.”

Conte was disappointed that his side couldn’t finish off the game when they were leading Swansea 1-0.

“It’s a bit difficult to talk about the game because we lost two points. We were dominating the game and leading 1-0 and created a lot of chances to score the second and third goals. It’s a pity because when you have the possibility to kill the game you must kill the game.”