Chelsea assistant first-team coach Steve Holland has said that Jose Mourinho was "frustrated" by Cardiff City's time-wasting in this afternoon's 4-1 victory over the Welsh side.
Manager Mourinho was sent to the stands in the second half for remonstrating with the referee, but Holland believes that the red card was unjust.
"Jose is very frustrated about the time-wasting," Holland told BBC Sport. "From the first minute, they took a long time to take every dead ball. We mentioned it politely to the fourth official and referee. It was a deliberate ploy to break up the game and needed some action.
"It was 56 minutes before their goalkeeper finally received a caution. The game changed when we got ahead. They kicked the ball out for us to take a throw in. The ball boy went to get it, threw the ball to Branislav Ivanovic, missed, and so it was in the dug-out area. Ivanovic had the ball in his hands for two seconds, and the referee was gesticulating for him to get it back into play.
"Jose was furious on the touchlines. For an hour, we'd been frustrated by their clear time-wasting. It's very frustrating for Jose to then be sent off for protesting after we have to throw the ball in within two seconds of getting it."
The result moves Chelsea up to third in the Premier League table.
Kristian Johnson
