Following an important win over Hull at Stamford Bridge, Jose Mourinho and Steve Bruce gave their views on what turned out to be a quite controversial finish to the game.
Bruce lambasted Cahill's dive, saying it was "like something out of Swan Lake - it was that blatant."
Despite winning the game by two goals to-nil, Jose Mourinho wasn't overly satisfied with the performance: "We didn’t play especially well but we played well enough for everybody connected with Chelsea – supporters, players and staff - to be calm, because the game was always under control. We never felt it was at risk."
Eden Hazard broke the deadlock was a rare headed goal, but it wasn't something that surprised the Chelsea boss, "I wasn’t because we knew we were going to play against a defensive line of three plus two wing-backs. I told my three attacking midfielders we needed to move and change positions, go to other areas because if you stay in a stable position that’s what they want, they want targets to mark, so I told them to try to find space between defenders.
"When I saw Eden in the box I wasn’t surprised, but I was surprised to see him score with his head. He jumps a lot but normally he closes his eyes, it was a very good goal. We made an agreement: he didn’t play against Sporting, I gave him four days’ holiday, he went somewhere with nice weather, where he could take his shirt off and get some sun. He told me he would come back fresh and you could see the happiness in his legs."
After being asked about the players trying to conserve energy and easing off after the second goal, Mourinho thought it was clever: "Maybe the players did, and if they did they are smart and they did it well. They know what is waiting for them, if the game is under control and there is no doubt about the points, especially after the second goal, they can move the ball intelligently and save energy. As a manager you always want more but the reality is that what’s in front of them is hard.’
The Portuguese boss was also pleased to have got back on track after defeat to Newcastle, "We are playing well since August, four months of getting results in every competition, the team is solid. As I was expecting, the bad moment didn’t continue. The bad moment was losing a game but after that we won again and played well again, we did against Sporting and we did today.
"I was right when I had no fears about negatives, the team has game principles and know how they want to play. We have a clear identity in our game, we change sometimes because we need to, but we are a strong team."
The main talking points in the post match comments were in relation to simulation. Willian and Diego Costa were both cautioned and Steve Bruce claimed that Gary Cahill could have received a second yellow, something that Mourinho disagreed with, "I didn’t see it on TV because I was far away but I don’t believe Cahill dived. If you tell me I’m wrong, and he dived, then something happened. They blocked his run, there was a touch or he lost his balance, but that big, honest guy, I don’t believe he dived in the opposition box.
"With Willian, why would he dive on the midfield line? If he wants to dive he would dive in the box. Last year he had a red card from Mr Foy and after we realised it was not even a touch on [Fabian] Delph, so I don’t think it’s a big deal."
However, Bruce had a very, very different view: "I've just been asked if Cahill should have gone and the simple answer is yes, especially given the referee has already booked two people for simulation or diving,'' Bruce said. "Listen, if it is Oscar, Hazard or Willian, they are running at that pace that the smallest connection can bring them over. There is no question about that. This is England's centre-half, by the way. For me, it could have been a red card in his first challenge on [Sone] Aluko. That was reckless and dangerous."
Tom Huddlestone saw red in the same game, but this time Bruce was in agreement with the referee's decision, "So when you come, you expect the referee to do their job. It is difficult enough to come here and, consequently, Tom Huddlestone, who is the most laid back person, is frustrated with the decisions against him and produced a horror challenge which deserves a red card. But when you come to places like this, then you need them to make the right call.
"When you see it back and look at the replays, there's no justification for it because we all know what he tried to do: he has tried to win the penalty by taking off thinking [David] Meyler was going to challenge him. We need to stop this horrible simulation which, unfortunately, has crept in. The referees have got a hard job but that wasn't a hard decision. Not from 12 yards, not from where I was.''
The Hull boss didn't want to make any hasty comments, knowing he could get pulled up by the FA for what he said, "If I say what I really, genuinely want to say, then I'll be hauled up in front of the Premier League again and I'm going to have to pay the 10 grand or whatever it was,'' said Bruce, also aggrieved by what he felt was a foul in the build-up to Hazard's opener. I think I paid £20-odd [thousand] last year so, before Christmas, I will make sure I button my lips and say p*** all about it and keep my money in my pocket.''
Quotes via ESPN and chelseafc.com