Mourinho: Diego Costa 'privileged' despite benching vs. Tottenham

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has defended his decision to bench Diego Costa in Sunday's scoreless draw at Tottenham, adding that his striker should feel "privileged" to have kept his spot in the starting XI longer than any other major player on the squad.

Costa has struggled to find his form this season, scoring just three times in the Premier League and once in Europe.

Mourinho hasn't hesitated to drop other protagonists - Branislav Ivanovic, Eden Hazard, and John Terry chief among the benchings so far.

Despite his own poor performances, Costa lasted three months without losing any game time, and the manager believes he should feel thankful for that.

"Diego is very privileged because he was the last one to be on the bench,” Mourinho said, according to Joe Prince-Wright of NBC Sports. "Everyone else has been ... Diego was privileged because I kept him in the team for all these matches.

"Today we thought the best strategy was this one. We are happy with the decision and the players. If we had won 1-0, our performance would have been considered tremendous. You will stay say it was good."

Costa's physical condition isn't in question, and his mood is "positive," said Mourinho, but images from the match would suggest otherwise.

The 27-year-old Brazilian neglected to put on his boots during the pitch-side warm-up, and then flung his bib in Mourinho's direction when he realised he wouldn't play a part in the proceedings.

"If he wants to hurt me, it’s not with a bib. I have a good relationship with him, no problem," said Mourinho.

The Portuguese didn't want to make any substitutions at all. He thought it was Chelsea's best performance of the season, and in fact waited until the 89th minute to make his first change.