Friday, 4 December 2015

Mourinho: Costa reaction has been excellent

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has applauded Diego Costa's reaction to being dropped from the starting line-up last weekend.

The striker was benched against Tottenham and reacted petulantly to not being brought on as a substitute, throwing his bib towards Mourinho, but the Portuguese says he has no issues with the Brazilian-born Spain striker.

"I cannot tell you if Diego Costa will be back in the starting line-up as I haven't told the players," Mourinho told reporters on Friday. 

"Costa has been very good – I cannot say better than ever, normally he trains well, that's the only thing that matters."

Costa's benching followed an angry disagreement with Mourinho during the 4-0 Champions League win at Maccabi Tel Aviv, with the Portuguese admitting he was unhappy with the 27-year-old's movement before claiming they had made up with 'kisses and cuddles'.


The former Atletico Madrid forward has since been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge but Mourinho dismissed specualtion about Costa's future.

"I don't know why there are question marks about his future as a Chelsea player. He was on the bench for one match. No problems, no problems at all," he added.

"I think he always tries to do his best – sometimes phenomenal, sometimes not so well. He always tries hard – sometimes with goals and good performances, sometimes not so good."

In Costa's absence, Pedro and Eden Hazard rotated as a false nine at White Hart Lane but Mourinho expects to welcome back Loic Remy for Saturday's home match with Bournemouth, following the birth of the Frenchman's child.

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