Branislav Ivanovic HITS BACK at referee's penalty decision against Southampton

CHELSEA'S Branislav Ivanovic has hit back at referee Mike Dean after he denied the defender a penalty in the 1-1 draw with Southampton.

Branislav IvanovicSKY SPORTS

Branislav Ivanovic went down after contact with Dusan Tadic

A marauding Ivanovic burst into the Saints area in the 29th minute and went to ground after contact from Dusan Tadic but Dean waved away the appeals despite the Serbian's dramatic fall.

And the Serbian believes he was clearly 'stood on'.

"I was at full speed, he stood on me and I went down," he said. "The decision was the referee’s, so I don’t have anything to say."

Ivanovic was, however, pleased to extend the Blues' lead at the top of the Premier League by one point after Manchester City's shock 1-0 defeat to Burnley.

Branislav IvanovicSKY SPORTS

Dusan Tadic stepped on Branislav Ivanovic in the box

I was at full speed, he stood on me and I went down

Branislav Ivanovic

"It was a hard, difficult game," Ivanovic added. "We started well but after we conceded a goal we maybe lost control.

"In the second half we tried to give our best, we created some chances but we didn’t score. I think with a little bit more luck we could have got three points.

"We played very well in the second half and controlled the game.

"It was difficult to score because they defend well and they are dangerous on the counter attack, but after the game we are now one more point ahead of Manchester City."

Would you like to receive news notifications from Daily Express?