Mauricio Pochettino says Tottenham now bigger than champions

Tottenham 0 Chelsea 0: As keen as Jose Mourinho was to dismiss suggestions of a rift with Diego Costa, his assessment of Chelsea’s performance as their best of the season only reinforced the manager’s view he had been right to drop the forward.

Five days after Mourinho was forced to admit to a dressing room row with Costa at half-time during the Champions League trip to Maccabi Tel Aviv, the Portuguese named the striker among his substitutes at White Hart Lane.

Costa’s body language told you all you needed about his view on the decision. After failing to take part in the warm-up, the Spain international sat disgruntled during the game, at one point tossing his bib in the direction of his manager.

It was an intriguing sideshow, and one that will be scrutinised in the coming weeks. Mourinho, though, was convinced his decision to freshen up his side and employ Eden Hazard in the main striker role helped secure a point and a third clean sheet, strengthening his view his side have bottomed out after a disastrous start to the season.

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

The reaction of the two managers to a frustrating match that was high on energy and commitment but alarmingly low on quality and goalscoring chances summed up their respective clubs’ campaigns so far.

While Mourinho drew satisfaction from his side’s display and contended they deserved to win, Mauricio Pochettino was left unhappy that his side failed to claim three points, despite extending their unbeaten run to 13 league games, their best sequence since 1985.

And Pochettino’s suggestion that Tottenham looked as though they were the “bigger club” was damning, if accurate given the pattern of the season.

“This is a good thing [that we are disappointed to draw],” said the Tottenham manager “We play the champions. It’s good. You got the feeling that Chelsea were a small team, and Tottenham can win every game we play.

“It’s very difficult, though. Not easy. We’re the youngest team in the Premier League and the maturity we showed today we have shown in different games. We have to feel happy. It’s a good thing that, maybe, we are a bigger club than Chelsea or that we deserve more.

“We showed good performances in the last few games, and I’m happy, but we have to keep working hard. We’ve only had 14 games in the Premier League and it’s too early to think about the end [of the season].”

Mourinho, meanwhile, is convinced his side are on the up. “We still have a result, and a performance and the feeling of ‘the team’,” said the Chelsea manager. “After these three results in a row, we can look to December — when we have three matches at Stamford Bridge and two matches away at Manchester United and Leicester, two of the top teams — with enthusiasm.

“I’m convinced that, by the end of December, we’ll be in a different position to that we’re in now and we’ll have shortened the difference to the top teams.”

Neither team did enough in front of goal to merit victory with Chelsea’s first effort on target coming from Eden Hazard in the 68th minute, a fine volley that was well saved by Hugo Lloris. Tottenham’s best chances fell to Heung-Min Son who twice forced Asmir Begovic to save without truly testing the keeper.

With his side languishing in the bottom half of the table, though, Mourinho was simply relieved to see signs of their old resilience return, albeit without the injured John Terry in the back four.

Terry should be back for the visit of Bournemouth next weekend but it remains to be seen whether Costa, who has scored just three league goals this season, will also return.

“Physically he is fine,” said Mourinho. “No problems. He is working well every day. His mood is positive. He’s always a positive guy in the team. I was not expecting to have a player on the bench jumping and singing because he is not playing, unless you’re a kid who has a chance to go on the bench — Ruben, Kenedy, feel that is one more step.

“But for a top player, they’re not happy. His behaviour was normal. He was ready to play when he went to warm up. When I decided not to play him, he went. And probably he is eating while waiting for us in the bus.” And he added: “If he wants to hurt me, it’s not with a bib. I have a good relationship with him, no problem.”

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (4-2-3-1):

Lloris 7; Walker 6, Alderweireld 7, Vertonghen 9, Rose 6; Dier 7, Dembele 7; Mason 6 (Lamela 56,6), Eriksen 6, Son 7 (Njie 74,6); Kane 6.

Subs not used:

Vorm, Trippier, Onomah, Wimmer, Carroll.

CHELSEA (4-2-3-1):

Begovic 7; Ivanovic 6, Zouma 7, Cahill 7, Azpilicueta 6; Matic 7, Fabregas 6; Willian 7 (Kenedy 88), Oscar 8, Pedro 7 (Loftus-Cheek 90); Hazard 8.

Subs not used:

Amelia, Rahman, Mikel, Djilobodji, Costa.

Referee:

M Oliver 8.