London, Sep 7 (IANS): Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas has leaped to the defence of the under-fire Diego Costa, hailing his national and Chelsea teammate as a "great striker".

After impressive performances with Atletico Madrid, Costa opted to switch national teams from his native Brazil to represent Spain and was seen as a potential star for the European champions.

But the striker has been a flop in Vicente del Bosque's team so far and Saturday's goalless outing in the 2-0 win in an European Championship qualifiers over Slovakia means he has now managed to find the back of the net just once in eight games for his adopted nation.

Fabregas however, has voiced his support for the 26-year-old forward, arguing that a lot of his good work goes unnoticed.

"Costa is a great striker. Last season, he scored more than 20 goals and on Saturday he won a penalty to make it 2-0. He's good at creating space," Costa was quoted as saying by goal.com on Sunday.

Fabregas also urged former Barcelona teammate Gerard Pique to ignore the Spanish fans who once again whistled him on Saturday due to a perceived lack of patriotism.

"Pique must carry on playing, being the best centre-back he can be and giving everything for the team to win the critics over. Time heals everything," Fabregas said.