Chelsea players honour Chapecoense in plane crash

Brazilian duo Diego Costa and Willian both paid tribute to the Chapecoense players and staff who died in a plane crash this week during their celebrations against Manchester City.

The football world was shaken when a flight carrying the Brazilian squad to their Copa Sudamericana final clash against Atletico Nacional plummeted to the ground, leaving 71 dead including the coach and the majority of the squad.

The praise and respect of the fallen victims have been flooding in across the world in the wake of the tragedy and they were evident in Saturday’s Premier League encounter.

A minute’s silence preceded kick-off in the Etihad Stadium to honour the deceased, but it was not the only time attention was turned to Chapecoense in the game.

After seeing Gary Cahill put Pep Guardiola’s men in the lead, Costa pulled Chelsea level in the second half.

The Spain international, who was born in Brazil and has two caps with the Selecao, pointed to the black armband all players wore in the game, which had a message of support for the club written on it.

Later in the game, fellow Brazilian Willian put the Blues ahead and followed it up by taking the armband off and holding it up to the crowd.

Chapecoense were in the minds of the fans, too, as a Brazil flag was spotted waving in the stands.