Jose Mourinho has paid tribute to Chelsea for proving their quality without leading goalscorer Diego Costa in Wednesday's 3-0 home victory over Tottenham Hotspur.

Costa sat out last night's win through suspension as 36-year-old Didier Drogba shone in his absence, grabbing a goal and an assist at Stamford Bridge.

The 25-year-old has struck 11 Premier League goals this season as the Blues sit six points clear of Manchester City in second, and Mourinho hailed his team for thriving without their star player.

"Did you remember Diego Costa today? I didn't," the Portuguese told reporters at full time.

"We need Diego Costa but our mentality is the right mentality. You don't cry about it. You give responsibility to the others and they respond in the best way."

Eden Hazard opened the scoring on 19 minutes before Drogba found the net shortly after to give the West Londoners a comfortable half-time lead, while Loic Remy capped the win in the final quarter.