Chelsea

continue to be dogged by accusations that their players tumble too easily to the turf after

Sam Allardyce

claimed

Branislav Ivanovic

“went down looking for a penalty” as the home side maintained their three-point advantage at the top with a 2-0 victory.

Ivanovic fell after a clash with Andy Carroll in first-half stoppage time, the West Ham United forward initially appearing to grab hold of the full- back's shirt but loosening his grip before the Serb fell. The incident provoked a furious reaction from Carroll and the goalkeeper, Adrián, with players from each side going head to head in the penalty area.

The incident came after two Chelsea players were booked for simulation in the recent victory over Hull City, with Gary Cahill fortunate to escape a second yellow card in that fixture for a similar offence. “I thought he went down looking for a penalty,” said the West Ham manager, his frustrations at a number of decisions having regularly been aired to the fourth official. “I don’t know about players being ‘entitled’ to go down looking for penalties but they do try and make the referee’s mind up. Staying on your feet does not get rewarded if you’re fouled. We all know that.

Decisions

“I don’t think the decisions went for us today but we all know the script for games like this, when you’ve been in involved in games like this as long as I have. Some of the free-kicks given against us were very harsh indeed. None of them were particularly major. But you’ll have to ask the referee. I’m not paying any more money to the Football Association.”

José Mourinho has consistently defended his players over the allegations of diving in recent weeks and insisted Ivanovic had been fouled. “I think it’s a penalty,” he claimed. “The other guy grabs him if you look at it on tv. But it was an isolated situation. The game was good, aggressive but correct.

“The only guy who dived was [West Ham’s Enner] Valencia, and that was not in the box, and no one reacted negatively. A good victory for us, a good performance from the referee, a good performance, even if it was a defeat, for West Ham.”

The win was a fifth in succession for Chelsea since they suffered their only defeat this season, at Newcastle in December, to maintain a three-point lead over Manchester City.

"I am delighted," said John Terry, whose second goal in successive matches had established the lead. "We are playing well, everyone can see that, and the pressure is on [the teams below] now to win. If we continue to play well, it will be tough for everyone else. That is the target for us. We have had a good start and if we continue our form it will be tough for anyone. It is important we remain calm and keep doing what we are doing."

Scoring goals

Asked about his captain’s form, Mourinho added: “He’s always had that [knack] of scoring goals. He’s full of confidence. I see my John of 2004, 2005, 2006. I see him back. I don’t see the difference. The only difference is when I see his twins at the training ground. They were born in that period when I was first at the club but now they are there running around and kicking balls. In him, there is no difference. He’s playing so well. But when the team is playing so well, it’s easy for the individuals to be performing at this level.” Guardian Service