Chelsea Striker Diego Costa 'Is Nothing Without His Team' Says Jose Mourinho

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has claimed summer signing Diego Costa "is nothing without his team", pointing out the Blues impressive start to the campaign is due to the whole team rather than one player.

The Spanish international striker has scored 11 goals in just 10 Premier League appearances since his £32m summer move from Atletico Madrid.

However, when asked about his sensational form, Mourinho said: "Without the team Diego has behind him, Diego is nothing."

"He's playing well and scoring goals but the team is producing a lot. It's not fair to speak about individuals when the team is very good," the Portuguese boss said ahead of the Champions League game against Schalke 04.

The Portuguese manager also hailed the quick adaptation of his other summer signings.

"You look to our team and the players we brought in – Thibaut, Fabregas, Diego, Filipe – and all of them are improving the team," he said.

"The players are playing really well in every competition. Nothing comes for free, or with luck. Even the draws we had were matches when we were closer to winning than losing – a missed penalty against Maribor, a goal in the last second against Man United. We are getting good results because the players are doing really well."

Meanwhile, Mourinho urged his players to secure three points against Roberto Di Matteo's side on Tuesday night (25 November), as it will see them secure qualification to the knockout stages of the Champions League with one game to go.

"If we lose two matches we go to the Europa League. It makes no sense to speak about the last 16. We need points to carry on playing in the Champions League and that's why we are here – to get the points," Mourinho said.

"We have two matches to do it but obviously it would be better for us to qualify [now]. We have so many matches in December if we can avoid a crucial match to decide the qualification for the Champions League, if we can avoid that pressure, it would be very good for us.

"The reality is we need points and we are going to try to do it [now] but if we don't, we have the last game against Sporting to try and stay in the competition."