First it happened with Porto, and then Inter Milan.

On the occasions Jose Mourinho has won the Champions League, he’s done it with front men who have been at the peak of their powers.

In 2003/04, the goalscoring duties were shared out among Benny McCarthy, Dmitri Alenitchev and Derlei at Porto, who scored a healthy 10 goals between them.

Six years later with Inter, Diego Milito did it all but single-handedly, finding the back of the net on six occasions en route to the Nerazzurri becoming European champions. Two of that half-dozen came in the final against Bayern Munich, also.

If Mourinho is to repeat that success with Chelsea this season, he’s going to need Diego Costa to show up.

So lethal in the Premier League last year, Costa failed to register a single goal in Europe—a fact that played its part in Chelsea’s early Champions League exit against Paris Saint-Germain.

Costa wasn’t a bit-part player, either. He featured in seven of Chelsea’s eight games, including 200 of the 210 minutes played against PSG in that last-16 disappointment.

He cut a frustrated figure in the tie, offering little by way of a goal threat, much like he did throughout the entire European campaign.

Indeed, his best performance came in the groups when Chelsea travelled to Lisbon to face Sporting. Normally so deadly when through on goal, he wasted an early one-on-one opportunity and was also guilty of some other glaring misses on the night.

When Costa’s in town, we expect so much more.

We can point to injuries playing their part in impacting his season, yet it was hardly the case in the Premier League.

The Spanish international scored 20 goals in 26 games to deliver Chelsea the title—a phenomenal return given it was his debut campaign in English football, not to mention the suspensions and other controversies that he endured.

Like his teammates, Costa couldn’t rediscover that same ruthless streak in Europe, which has to change if Chelsea have any chance of pitching up at the San Siro for the final come May.

Costa’s failures in the Champions League almost mirror his manager’s lack of success in the competition at Stamford Bridge.

Despite his pedigree, Mourinho has always been the nearly man when it comes to delivering European glory in West London.

He’s taken Chelsea to three semi-finals, where they have lost on each occasion—twice to Liverpool, the other Atletico Madrid.

Costa was part of the Atletico side that so mercilessly dispatched Chelsea, battling their way through the tie to eventually grind down Mourinho‘s men and take victory.

Costa scored eight goals in Europe in 2013/14, which is why Mourinho had long marked him out as the man to lead the line at Stamford Bridge.

And much like his manager, it’s the Champions League that will be the barometer to define the legacy Costa leaves.

Mourinho is at Chelsea to ensure domestic success, although it’s dominance in Europe that owner Roman Abramovich is demanding above all else. That’s the last frontier of the journey Chelsea have enjoyed since the Russian’s riches propelled them to sit among the football elite.

Success in 2012 saw the club peak, and Abramovich‘s desire is to make that consistent, to become much more than just an anomaly in the history of the European game. He wants a dynasty, and those only come with glory that is repeated over and over.

It’s why Abramovich has Mourinho; it’s why Mourinho has Costa.

Goals are the currency that determine success in football at any level, and Chelsea didn’t register enough them in Europe last season. If Costa continues to struggle on the continent, it’s going to be a repeat of 2014/15, when the Premier League champions suffered significant disappointment.

Considering how Chelsea’s title defence has started in the early weeks of the new season, things aren’t looking positive domestically, either.

That means the importance of succeeding in Europe is only going to be heightened, and for that reason alone, Chelsea dare not fail.

As Chelsea prepare to announce their Champions League squad ahead of Matchday 1 in less than a fortnight, it’s Costa who stands out as being the man to ensure that doesn’t happen.

He needs to step up.

 

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report’s lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes

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