Jose Mourinho’s relationship with Costa came under renewed review after the Chelsea manager dropped the spanish striker for Sunday’s 0-0 draw at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
The point left the reigning champions rolling in the bottom half of the table, while Tottenham — now unbeaten in 13 league games since the defeat against manchester united– were left frustrated after failing to take a chance to put pressure on the top four.
But it was Mourinho’s decision to leave Costa on the bench, having clashed with the Spain international at half-time of the mid-week Champions League win away to Maccabi Tel Aviv, that drew most attention.
It clearly pissed the striker off, who did not take part in the pre-match warm-up and tossed his bib towards Mourinho as the game neared its conclusion.
Mourinho explained his decision to drop Costa by claiming the 27-year-old was lacking in confidence, having found the net only four times this season.
“He’s playing every match and things are not going really well for his confidence,” Mourinho told BT Sport prior to kick-off at White Hart Lane.
Chelsea captain John Terry was also absent after failing to recover from the ankle injury he picked up during the 4-0 victory in Israel.
That meant Kurt Zouma and Gary Cahill were paired at the heart of the visitors’ defence, while Eden Hazard was pushed forward to fill the hole left by the brooding Costa.
Tottenham also came into the game on the back of a long trip, in the case of Mauricio Pochettino’s team travelling to Azerbaijan to face Qarabag in the Europa League.
Support InfoStride News' Credible Journalism: Only credible journalism can guarantee a fair, accountable and transparent society, including democracy and government. It involves a lot of efforts and money. We need your support. Click here to Donate