3 takeaways from Chelsea's draw with Tottenham: The end could be near for Costa

A scrappy match between Chelsea and Tottenham on Sunday at White Hart Lane didn't come close to living up to the lofty expectations of last season's thriller in north London.

An encounter that saw eight goals bulge the back of the net in January only featured a handful of chances on target this time around during the 0-0 draw as both teams struggled to sustain momentum and break through each other's backlines.

While the scoreless result maintains Chelsea's impressive defensive run, the defending champions continue to toil in the bottom half of the table with just 15 points in 14 games.

Here's three takeaways from Sunday's draw:

Chelsea's attack maintains standard of ineptitude

Jose Mourinho's decision to leave Diego Costa out of the starting XI wasn't the ingredient Chelsea required to fix its deficiencies in attack.

A Chelsea team that didn't feature a true striker only highlighted the squad's need to explore the transfer market in January for reinforcements in attack. While Mourinho praised Eden Hazard, his insertion upfront failed to help the Blues overcome a fruitless run that's seen the team score just three goals in five Premier League games.

The away supporters were forced to wait over an hour before Chelsea tested Hugo Lloris with a superb shot from Hazard, who did well to control a cross into the box before unleashing a low shot the Tottenham netminder did well to get a hand on and deflect out of bounds.

It was Chelsea's best chance for a goal en route to just the second occasion this season in which the club avoided a loss after registering a victory.

Diego Costa situation becoming toxic

A simple bib toss could spell the end to Diego Costa's time in a Chelsea strip.

Costa's frustrations over losing his starting role Sunday came to a head when the prospect of appearing as a substitute fizzled out in the final moments of the dull draw.

The Spanish international didn't take the decision well at all as he returned to the bench, angrily removed his bib before tossing it over his head, in the direction of Mourinho.

The manager didn't appear to notice the incident as John Obi Mikel failed to hide his delight after witnessing an incident that's already stolen more headlines than the match itself.

Mourinho sympathized with his disgruntled forward after the media's focus shifted from the match to the bib toss.

Fatigue hampers Tottenham's efforts to reach top four

Tottenham's efforts to maintain its position in the Europa League didn't have a devastating impact on the squad Sunday, but hindered the team's chances of finding a goal against a struggling Chelsea side.

A majority of the team that helped Tottenham earn an important 1-0 away win in Azerbaijan against Qarabag was tasked with the assignment of adding to Chelsea's early-season miseries.

Mauricio Pochettino's side, however, struggled with the demand and failed to find a breakthrough that would have launched the club past rivals Arsenal and into the top four.