Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho understands Diego Costa's angry reaction at not being played during the clash against Tottenham Hotspur.

Following a heated exchange during the midweek Champions League encounter in Israel, Mourinho decided to drop Costa from the starting line-up for the clash against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday and the Spaniard was left as an unused substitute on the day.

Costa was clearly left unhappy at not being handed a chance to feature and reacted angrily by throwing his bib at the direction of Mourinho after being told that he would not be used.

Costa's reaction has unsurprisingly caused a furor in the media but Mourinho believes that the striker is entitled to be angry.

Mourinho said after the game: "If Diego wants to hurt me, it's not with a bib. I have a good relationship with him. There are no problems. I was not expecting to have a player on the bench jumping and singing because he is not playing. A top player is not happy. But his behaviour was normal.

"He was ready to play when he went to warm up. When I decided not to play him, he went back to his seat. He was probably eating while waiting for us in the bus.

"I didn't want to change the team. Diego is very privileged because everyone else has been on the bench this season - he was the last. I kept him in the team for all these matches. Yesterday we thought the best strategy was this one. We are happy with the decision and the players."