Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink leapt to the defence of Diego Costa by insisting Watford provoked the fiery forward in the goalless draw at Vicarage Road.

Costa came under the spotlight again as he shoved down Hornets defender Sebastian Prodl and then clashed with Juan Carlos Paredes right in front of the dugouts.

Paredes and Costa were both booked for that incident, with the Watford player making a meal of the challenge , and the Chelsea striker protesting his innocence to referee Mike Dean.

Hiddink had a clear view of the incident and reckons the Spanish international was being targeted by the home side in Hertfordshire.

He said: “It was very close to us and we saw what happened. Paredes gave him a push in the back and the back and then brought his hands to his face - but Diego was not near to his face - they stumbled a bit. They tried to provoke Diego a bit, but I have to defend him.

“He was provoked. When things are going wrong - they are going wrong - but when they are provoked, I protect my players and I think it was very fair. He was very calm at half time and we were focusing on getting a goal.”

Diego Costa's eventful night at Watford in pictures:

It’s another two dropped points for Chelsea as Hiddink’s team find themselves in 13th in the Premier League standings with 24 games of the season gone.

The Blues manager, who is to leave at the end of the campaign, felt his team deserved more after a strong finish to the match on Wednesday night.

He added: “I think we were worth a win tonight and the only difficult period we had was 10 minutes in the first half. In the last 20 minutes we deserved to win.

“We had a threat on both flanks and I think Gomes was man of the match. We’re playing every week better and better. I liked to see how the team was playing in the 20 minutes.”

Read more: Five things we learned from Chelsea's draw at Vicarage Road.

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