Paris Saint-Germain defender David Luiz insists he is friends with
Chelsea's Diego Costa after clashing with the striker when they faced
each other on Tuesday, reports Goal.
The pair came together on
several occasions during the fiercely-contested Champions League tie at
Stamford Bridge, and Luiz appeared to elbow Costa at one point.
The
Brazil international does not have any problem with Costa though, and
speaking after the final whistle, he said: "It is normal. Diego is an
amazing player, a top guy and we have a lot of physical [battles]. We
are friends and were together after the match. We know each other from
before."
"Drogba taught him that" - Fans react to David Luiz's last gasp header for PSG against Chelsea
PSG
were reduced to ten men when star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was very
harshly sent off in the first-half, but they deservedly qualified for
the quarter-finals after beating the Blues on away goals.
Gary
Cahill opened the scoring at the Bridge inside the final ten minutes,
but Luiz came back to haunt his former club with a stunning header just
five minutes later to take the tie into extra-time.
PSG captain
Thiago Silva gave away a penalty in the early stages of the additional
period, but he made amends to score the equaliser, which took the Ligue 1
champions through.
Luiz had promised he wouldn't celebrate if he
scored against the Blues, but he was unable to contain himself when his
header hit the back of the net, and he apologised to the Chelsea
support after the game, via the Mirror.
He added: "I respect
everyone here and I was very happy here. I said I wouldn't celebrate if I
scored but the emotion of the moment meant I couldn't keep [to that].
"The
fact I don't score many goals means it is always special for me. I am
happy with my team as we showed spirit and character."
Luiz
joined PSG last summer from Chelsea for £50 million, fee via the
Guardian, making him the most expensive defender in the world.
He has averaged seven defensive actions per game and 90% pass accuracy in the league this season.
Luiz has averaged 61.67 passes per game in Ligue 1 this season, the second-most of any defender in the division.
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