David Luiz hails "amazing" Diego Costa, insists he has no problems with him

Posted Friday, March 13, 2015 by squawka.com

David Luiz hails

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.