I’m In No Rift With Costa – Mourinho

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho denied any disagreement with Diego Costa despite the striker’s unhappy reaction to being dropped to the bench for the scoreless draw at Tottenham Hotspur.

Mourinho admitted the pair had argued at halftime during the mid-week Champions League victory away to Maccabi Tel Aviv and Costa’s mood at White Hart Lane on Sunday suggested he had taken his demotion badly.

The Spain international failed to warm up until told to late in the game, generally looked disgruntled and at one point appeared to toss his training bib in the direction of the manager.

But Mourinho said he had no complaints about Costa’s behaviour, saying: “When I asked him to warm up, he did. I put him with Ruben (Loftus-Cheek) and Kenedy, warming up.

“Diego is very privileged because he was the last one to be on the bench. Everyone else has been: the captain (John Terry), (Branislav) Ivanovic, (Gary) Cahill, the vice-captain of England, (Cesc) Fabregas, Pedro, (Eden) Hazard, player of the season, Oscar; everyone was on the bench.

“Diego was privileged because I kept him in the team for all these matches. Today (Sunday) we thought the best strategy was this one.”

Costa struggled with hamstring problems last season, but Mourinho said there were no issues with his condition.

“Physically, he is fine,” said the Portuguese. “No problems. He is working well every day. His mood is positive. He’s always a positive guy in the team.

“I was not expecting to have a player on the bench jumping and singing because he is not playing, unless you’re a kid who has a chance to go on the bench –- Ruben, Kenedy, (who) feel that is one more step. But for a top player, they’re not happy.

“His behaviour was normal. He was ready to play when he went to warm up. When I decided not to play him, he went. And probably he is eating while waiting for us in the bus.”

The Chelsea manager joked: “If he wants to hurt me, it’s not with a bib. I have a good relationship with him, no problem”.