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Mourinho ignites war of words after Chelsea draw

Nemanja Matic was penalised for this tackle - which gave Southampton a penalty © Getty Images

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Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho believes a wrongly awarded penalty in the 1-1 draw with Southampton denied his side an eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League.

Mourinho was fined £25,000 pounds for saying there was a "clear campaign" against his side after Cesc Fabregas was denied a penalty and booked for diving instead in the 1-1 draw at St Mary's in December.

And on Sunday he was frustrated Nemanja Matic was penalised - allowing Dusan Tadic to score from the spot and cancel out Diego Costa's first Premier League goal for almost two months - and Branislav Ivanovic was not awarded a spot kick at the other end.

"I'm happy with the situation. I'm happy with the six-point lead, but I'm not happy with the result,'' Mourinho said.

"If you remember our two matches against Southampton: in one game, one penalty that is not a penalty, and in another game a penalty that was not given. You are speaking about six points transformed into two points.''

Chelsea are six points clear of second-placed Manchester City with a game in hand. Mourinho, who was clearly upset with the penalty decisions, but bit his tongue on this occasion.

He said: "My opinion is not important. Important is Mr Mike Dean [the referee]. His decision was a penalty [for Southampton] and his decision was no penalty on Ivanovic.''

Ivanovic may have been clipped by Tadic, but fell theatrically, dissuading Dean from pointing to the spot. Asked about the fall, Mourinho deferred to his media officer sitting alongside him, saying: "You have to control me, if not...''

Mourinho was told television pundit Graeme Souness - with whom he had a public exchange of views this week after the Scot criticised Chelsea's conduct in the Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain - thought Matic had conceded a penalty.

"Graeme Souness says also that it's more a reason to criticise a player who asks for a yellow card than a player who kicks somebody in the chest,'' Mourinho added.

"I went to Sky and they told me their pundits said it's a penalty. I went to BBC and they told me it's not a penalty. I went to the radios and they told me it's not a penalty.

"Pundits are paid to wear my suit, but I'm not paid to wear their suit or to comment on their comments. If one day I become a pundit, I will wear a manager's suit. I will win every game, because pundits win every game, and then I can be critical and I can be phenomenal like they are.''

Matic was replaced by Ramires soon after a second-half foul on Sadio Mane, which could have seen him booked for a second time and sent off for a second successive Premier League game.

"When that penalty is given you have to believe that the second yellow card can come,'' said Mourinho, who referred to Ramires' sending off at Aston Villa last season."

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