Diego Simeone leaves Diego Costa out for Chelsea trip

Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has revealed that it was an easy decision to omit Diego Costa from the travelling squad for tonight's Champions League game versus Chelsea.

The Spain international fell out with Blues boss Antonio Conte during the backend of the previous campaign, before eventually sealing his return to Atleti in mid-September.

Costa is ineligible to play for the Madrid giants owing to their transfer embargo which concludes only in the New Year, and Simeone did not want the 29-year-old to become a distraction for the crunch European clash.

He said via ESPN: "Because I am the manager. I made the best decision what I think was best for the team. I don't think we need to think about that too much. We need to think about our game." 

Costa showed his presence at the Wanda Metropolitano in the reverse fixture where Atletico Madrid lost 2-1 in the dying seconds after a goal from Michy Batshuayi.

The La Liga outfit face a must-win game at Stamford Bridge tonight, and even a victory won't be sufficient to reach the last 16 of the competition, should AS Roma win their match versus Qarabag