Mourinho denies rift with Costa

LONDON - Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho denied any rift with Diego Costa despite the striker's unhappy reaction to being dropped to the bench for the scoreless draw at Tottenham. Mourinho admitted the pair had argued at half-time during the week Champions League victory and Costa's mood at White Hart Lane suggested he had taken his demotion badly. Mourinho said he had no complaints about Costa's behaviour, saying: "When I asked him to warm up, he did. I put him with Ruben (Loftus-Cheek) and Kenedy, warming up. Diego is very privileged because he was the last one to be on the bench. Everyone else has been: the captain (John Terry), (Branislav) Ivanovic, (Gary) Cahill, the vice-captain of England, (Cesc) Fabregas, Pedro, (Eden) Hazard, player of the season, Oscar; everyone was on the bench.”

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