Mourinho-Chelsea: “If Costa wants to hurt me, it will not be with a bib !”

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has played down reports of a bust up between himself and striker Diego Costa, following his side’s 0-0 draw with Spurs on Sunday. Following a run of poor form in 2015, Costa was dropped from the starting line-up, despite the unavailability of back up options Loic Remy and Falcao. Eden Hazard […]
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sambafoot_admin
2015-11-30 16:00:00

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has played down reports of a bust up between himself and striker Diego Costa, following his side’s 0-0 draw with Spurs on Sunday.

Following a run of poor form in 2015, Costa was dropped from the starting line-up, despite the unavailability of back up options Loic Remy and Falcao.

Eden Hazard played as a false 9 as Chelsea toiled to a 0-0 draw and Costa was not introduced from the bench. The testy striker appeared to refuse to join in with the team warm up and also appeared to toss his bib at Jose Mourinho when instructed to sit back on the bench with minutes remaining. However, the Portuguese boss played down suggestions of a rift between the two.

"For me his behaviour is normal. A top player on the bench will not be happy.  If he wants to hurt me it would not be with a bib. I have a good relationship with him," Mourinho told reporters in his post match press conference.

Mourinho was quick to point out that other senior players have spent time on the bench this season, "I think Diego is very privileged," he said. “He is the last player to be on the bench. Everyone has been on the bench – the captain [John] Terry, [Branislav] Ivanovic, [Gary] Cahill, [Cesc] Fabregas, Pedro and player of the season [Eden] Hazard.

“Diego is privileged to have been kept in the team for all these matches and today we thought our best strategy was to play with this. I am happy with my decision and the players. Eden could play the 90 minutes and was so good and dangerous for us, I felt he could have scored a goal."

Mourinho was also quick to quell any suggestions of an injury issue with Costa, ""Diego is physically fine, no problems," he said, “He works well, every day his mood is positive, he is the positive guy in the team. I do not expect to have a player on the bench jumping and shouting because he is not playing."

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sambafoot_admin
Dec 01, 2015