Jose Mourinho Talks Diego Costa Benching, Bib Incident, Chelsea After Spurs Draw

Jose Mourinho is unconcerned by the actions of his striker Diego Costa as he appeared to throw down his bib in disgust after not playing a part in Chelsea's 0-0 draw with Tottenham on Sunday.

The Spaniard seemed disappointed at not being required, despite the team only drawing. However, Mourinho said his striker should consider himself “privileged” to be the last player he decided to bench, per Chelsea's official Twitter account:

The 27-year-old didn't feature in the Premier League match and didn't react well when Mourinho decided to bring on Kenedy and Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the second half, sending Costa back to the bench.

He took off his bib and tossed it into the air, nearly hitting his manager with it. Mourinho played down the incident, however, via Daniel Taylor of the Guardian:

Costa was one of Chelsea's top performers during the 2014-15 campaign, highlighted by a superb scoring run early in the season. He's struggled with his form this season, however, scoring just three goals in 11 Premier League appearances, per WhoScored.com.

With that in mind, Mourinho decided to go in another direction against an in-form Tottenham squad, and when his team needed a goal late, he wanted to give other players a chance to step up, per Ian Herbert of the Independent:

Per the Blues' official Twitter account, Mourinho made it clear he understands Costa's frustrations:

Turning to the match itself, the Portuguese manager was visibly satisfied with the Blues' performance, even if the result was rather disappointing. He hailed the team's fighting spirit, and even told reporters he thought Spurs were luckier to keep a clean sheet:

Oliver Kay of the Sunday Times agreed the squad played with more energy than they have in weeks, although he noted the Blues' attacking output was still lacking:

But apart from the lack of goals and the incident with Costa, Chelsea fans should take plenty of positives from this match. The defence looked solid and kept Harry Kane, one of the Premier League's most in-form strikers, in check. Cesc Fabregas' distribution wasn't great, but the midfield battled for every inch, exactly the way it did last season.

Looking ahead, Mourinho believes better things are ahead:

Chelsea will host Bournemouth on Saturday, Dec. 5, and given the Cherries' recent struggles―they haven't won a Premier League match since September―the Blues should grab three points from that fixture rather comfortably.

It could be the start of a strong run for the defending champions, particularly if they play with the intensity they showed at White Hart Lane on Sunday.

Follow @ReverschPass