Ryan Shawcross: 'Chelsea's Diego Costa is fantastic, but soft'

Stoke City captain Ryan Shawcross has suggested that Chelsea striker Diego Costa is soft compared to some of the players he marked during his days in the Championship.

The 28-year-old courted praise for the way in which he dealt with the tempestuous Costa during Stoke's 1-0 win over the Blues on Saturday.

"I played in the Championship and there's a lot nastier people in the Championship and tougher people," he told BBC Sport.

"Once you've got Costa concentrating on you rather than the game you've won the battle.

"I was pleased he was concentrating on me and just delighted to keep him quiet because he's a fantastic player."

The win lifted Mark Hughes's side up to 12th in the Premier League table, leaving Costa and co in 16th.