7 Truths: Diego Costa reacted terribly to his overdue dressing down

Chelsea have seemingly been engaged in a civil war this season with the dressing room, or elements of it, in opposition to Jose Mourinho at various times. There have been leaks about players who don’t want to play for the manager and on numerous occasions Mourinho has used his media platform to criticise individuals in his squad. Such cracks in the team’s unity were exposed again at Tottenham when Diego Costa was punished in the most public of fashions for his act of disloyalty in midweek.

Having had a bust-up with his boss during the Champions League win over Maccabi Tel Aviv, Costa followed the likes of John Terry, Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic by being dropped to the bench for the first time this season. While his team-mates suffered in silence, though, Costa let his actions do the talking in a remarkably petulant display. He didn’t appear for the pre-match warm-up, threw his bib at Mourinho when it became clear he wasn’t going to come on and then got out of White Hart Lane as quickly as possible while his fellow subs conducted a warm-down on the pitch.

Costa is the last person you would want to pick a fight with, but perhaps this is a cute move from Mourinho. He’s stirred up a hornet’s nest of anger, which Costa could barely contain as he stewed on the sidelines, but if it gets a positive reaction from a player who has only scored three league goals this season then it could well be worth it. Costa deserved his dressing down. The danger is that it sends the striker into a funk and further degrades the squad’s loyalty to their boss.

Mourinho said it was his team’s best performance of the season and while they did look dangerous in spells and certainly worked hard, the truth was that they did not create enough clear-cut chances against a tired looking Tottenham. They needed a player with the ability to open up a defence but Fabregas, who has that quality, continued his awful season so far with a wasteful performance. As well as losing possession 14 times with his slack passing, the midfielder also managed to hit a free-kick straight out of play and smack another into the face of Willian. Not his finest hour.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang bagged his 16th league goal of the season in his 14th appearance on Sunday; pretty much in any other league that sort of return would have your side at least in contention for the title. Alas, for Aubameyang and Thomas Tuchel, Dortmund have little to no hope of claiming a first league title since 2012 – Bayern are just too strong. Players of Aubameyang’s calibre should be challenging for league titles but, if he is really to do so, he will have to either move to Bayern or leave the Bundesliga entirely. Thereby undermining the league’s competitiveness, its appeal and, crucially, its ability to compete as a brand.

Arsene Wenger reported that Alexis Sanchez had a tight hamstring after Arsenal’s 3-0 win against Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday. Arsenal travelled to 16th-placed Norwich on Sunday and Wenger risked the Chilean. It was a risk that patently was not worth taking. The fact that Wenger felt the need to play his star man says much for the depth of the squad he has built.

Wenger was in bullish form in his post-match press conference but he must shoulder the lion’s share of responsibility here. Sanchez should not have played. Arsenal have a crucial Champions League match against Olympiacos on December 9 and there is no guarantee that the forward will be available. Lose and they will find likely find themselves in the Europa League - which will almost certainty damage their Premier League form.

Harry Kane has led the line admirably this season – despite struggling to find the back of the net earlier in the season, he implemented Mauricio Pochettino’s pressing philosophy with the insatiable appetite that one has come to expect of the England man. However, he is in serious need of a rest and that was in evidence on Sunday when he began to flag alarmingly in the second half against Chelsea.

Tottenham, of course, have Clinton N’Jie in reserve but he is still acclimatising to a new league. Spurs need an established Premier League striker to not only lessen the scoring burden on Kane but also the physical demands of Pochettino. Spurs have made considerable strides under their Argentine boss, but their season would be dealt a severe blow if Kane were to get injured or just burnout. Their reliance on him at the moment it too great.

Real Madrid got back to winnings in La Liga after their Clasico humbling with a 2-0 win over Eibar. Truth be told the scoreline flattered the capital club. They lack an identity. They play with little coherence and while it is easy to blame the coach, Florentino Perez remains the root of many of their problems. The Galacticos project is a failed concept; yet he persists with it.

Take for example the inexplicable decision to perform major surgery on the 2013-14 squad that had just won the Copa del Rey and Champions League. Carlo Ancelotti had managed to find a formation that brought balance to the lopsided squad Perez had put together. Angel di Maria had been a revelation alongside Xabi Alonso in midfield yet both were sold and in came James Rodriguez and Toni Kroos. Both fine players in their own right but they imbalanced an already skewed squad. The result? No silverware and the sack for Ancelotti. Yet the problems persist. The coach is not the problem; the transfer policy is.

Until Perez comes to his senses and builds a team then the chaos that currently engulfs the club will only continue.

Jurgen Klopp would surely not quibble with anyone who suggested that Liverpool’s performance on Sunday against Swansea City will not live long in the memory. For a man who would not even call the 4-1 away win over Manchester City "perfect” (merely nearly so), it is safe to say he has higher standards than that.

The performance was not much to write home about, but this was a win with plenty to be commend it. Liverpool got the three points, welcomed Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge back to the fray, and closed the gap on the top of the table - all while building confidence and momentum around the club. Sure, they could only sustain their attacking threat for short bursts in either half against a side that is in the throes of its own confidence crisis, but there were still signs that an assurance at home to match their vibrancy on the counter-attack in away games is slowly being developed.

While that comes, Klopp will not be unhappy to see his side showing they can still win ugly in the interim.

Manchester United have been in that exact phase for what feels like 18 months now, but are still to kick on beyond that. Liverpool are already looking like a side bursting to make that leap, and when they do it will be interesting to see if United can keep up.