Diego Costa’s response to being benched in Chelsea’s Premier League game against Tottenham on Sunday has been branded as “petulant” and “disrespectful” to the club’s fans by Jamie Redknapp. “They’re not happy. So for me, his behaviour was normal”.
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However, that didn’t stop the Portuguese dropping Costa to the bench at White Hart Lane, with Mourinho beforehand suggesting that the player needed a breather. Obviously we want to end up first, but I don’t try to think that far ahead.
Mourinho said: “Me and Eden have different concepts of number 10”.
“I think Diego is very privileged”, he said.
Last year’s PFA Player of the Year is yet to score for the Blues this term and has been fielded right across Mourinho’s frontline in an attempt to revive his fortunes.
“Today we thought the best strategy to play was this one. There’s no issue between me and Diego, it was just a decision”, Mourinho continued.
On Friday, Mourinho asked the Spain global, who has scored three Premier League goals this season, to give him more when not on the ball.
The decision came just five days after Mourinho had insisted that he had patched up an on-pitch bust-up with Costa during the Champions League victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv with “kisses and cuddles”.
“Physically he is fine, he is working well every day, his mood is positive”.
But Ivanovic said: “I expect Diego to come back strongly”.
Chelsea captain John Terry was also absent after failing to recover from an ankle injury.
Spurs opened the season with a 1-0 loss at Manchester United, but have since embarked on a 13-game unbeaten run – drawing with Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea and beating the likes of Manchester City and West Ham.
After Chelsea’s 0 – 0 draw at Tottenham, Scholes lambasted Costa, saying he is only good at fighting. “It was his [Hazard’s] best game of the season”. But did that leave them any worse-off than they have looked in recent weeks: with Costa being driven out wide, hanging back on the edge of a box, and contributing nothing but attitude to the game? “Hazard. I think we deserved more”, he told reporters.
He said: “Well, I prefer to say that we have to play every match as if we are fighting for the title”.
“It’s very hard, though”.
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“We have to feel happy”.
