Diego Costa needed just five minutes to reintroduce himself to Atletico Madrid fans, finding the back of the net in the comfortable 4-0 Copa del Rey win at Lleida on Wednesday.
Costa, 29, agreed to a move back to Atletico from Chelsea in September but was unable to play for Diego Simeone’s side until the new year due to the club’s transfer ban.
The Spaniard, who spent four years at Stamford Bridge before falling out with Blues boss Antonio Conte last summer, quickly made up for lost time as he grabbed Madrid’s third goal of the evening moments after coming off the bench to replace Angel Correa in the 65th minute.
It helped wrap up a routine win for Atleti in the first leg of their last-16 clash with the Spanish third division side after defender Diego Godin and Costa’s fellow former Chelsea striker Fernando Torres gave them a two-goal half-time lead.
Los Rojiblancos opened the scoring through Diego Godin in the 33rd minute before Fernando Torres made it two five minutes later.
France forward, Antoine Griezmann, completed the rout in stoppage time following the late dismissal of Lleida defender Marc Trilles.
