Manchester United striker Robin van Persie was labelled "stupid" by his manager Louis van Gaal after removing his shirt as he celebrated his last-gasp equaliser against Chelsea.
Van Persie, whose form had been questioned ahead of Sunday's
Barclays Premier League clash at Old Trafford, secured a 1-1 draw for his side
by slamming home in the 94th minute.
Lost in the euphoria of the moment, he promptly whipped off
his shirt and flung it in the air in celebration - earning a booking from
referee Phil Dowd and a ticking off from Van Gaal.
"He did a stupid reaction after the goal," Van
Gaal said.
"You can be excited but you don't have to pull your
shirt off because then you have a yellow card. It is not so smart."
Van Gaal's counterpart Jose Mourinho was also unhappy
post-match with someone in particular - Dowd.
That much was clear, despite the Chelsea manager insisting
he had no comment to make about the official as he did his best to avoid
getting into trouble with the Football Association.
The visitors had a penalty appeal turned down in the first
half when Chris Smalling tussled with Branislav Ivanovic.
Then, after Didier Drogba's 53rd-minute header had put
Chelsea in front, they were denied victory when Ivanovic received his second
booking of the game for a foul on Angel di Maria and the resulting free-kick
came to Van Persie, who fired in.
Chelsea received a total of seven bookings in the game.
And asked about Dowd, Mourinho - whose team are now four
points clear at the top of the Premier League - said: "You know I cannot
speak.
"Some (managers) can, some don't. I am one of the ones
that cannot because you know what happens to me when I speak.
"If I do (talk about Ivanovic's sending-off) I have to
start in the first half and go through many things that happened.
"The (possible) penalty on Ivanovic, the accumulation
of cards, the fouls not given."
He added: "To come here and play the way we did and not
to be happy with the point, because we are not, shows clearly how good we were
and how good we are playing at this moment.
"We are four points clear, so I can say at this moment
that, next weekend, it won't matter about results - we will be top of the
league.
"I prefer to be in front rather than behind, obviously,
because you have a little space for your mistakes - or for the referees'
mistakes."
Mourinho also stressed he regards eighth-placed United as
title rivals, despite the gap between the two clubs currently standing at 10
points.
Meanwhile, Van Gaal - who felt his side "could have
won" and rued the opportunities they missed despite the "fighting
spirit" that saw them notch a second successive late leveller - revealed
United defender Phil Jones missed Sunday's game due to shin splints.
While Jones looks set for another spell on the sidelines,
there was more positive news for United regarding Radamel Falcao.
Like Jones, the Colombia striker also missed the match
against Chelsea, but his injury does not look serious, which is a boost given
that United travel to local rivals Manchester City on Sunday.
"Falcao took a kick in training on Thursday and
couldn't play because of that," Van Gaal told MUTV after the final whistle
on Sunday.
"We'll have to wait and see, but I don't think the injury
is too bad. (Sunday's) match came too soon for him."
*Independent