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.
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