ENGLAND/ CHELSEA, Cech: "Suarez no diver"

© foto di Daniele Buffa/Image Sport

Chelsea keeper Petr Cech has saluted Luis Suarez for NOT being a cheat and a diver.

Liverpool’s Uruguayan striker has been pilloried all year for going to ground too easily.

But Cech insists Suarez deserves credit for staying on his feet when they collided late on in Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Cech admits he feared the worst when he dashed out to challenge Suarez for a loose ball as Liverpool threatened to pinch a late victory.

But he said: “We should give Suarez credit because when we had a one- versus-one, he didn’t try to cheat and jump or dive, and that was a fair thing for him to do.

“We all know how dangerous he is in the box. He’s a natural goalscorer, always in the right place to tap the ball in. It’s a gift not everyone has.

“He is on fire this season in terms of scoring goals and, unfortunately, he had the chance to keep that run going on Sunday.”

Cech did not even have any complaints about Suarez’s second-half equaliser, despite TV evidence showing the Liverpool striker pushed Ramires out of the way before heading home.

Cech added: “Suarez is a clever player and he did it in a moment when the referee and his assistant couldn’t have seen it.

“I don’t know how much of a push there was by Suarez but we should have been 3-0 up and we shouldn’t be discussing the incident.”

Now Cech wants Chelsea to stop shipping goals after failing to keep a clean sheet in their last eight games.

Two weeks ago, the European champions had a chance to go seven points clear of Manchester United at the top of the Premier League.

But now they are down to third place and trail their bitter rivals by three points.

Cech said: “Every single point matters when you want to win the league and even goal difference can be decisive.

“It is looking like the title race is going to be between three teams this season and we have lost valuable points in our last three games against United, Swansea and now Liverpool.

“Sometimes I would like more clean sheets but the most important thing is to win so, even if it finishes 5-4, I can live with it.

“Winning 5-4 is better than drawing 0-0 but if you don’t keep clean sheets you always have to score more than one.

“The Liverpool game would have been three points if we’d kept a clean sheet but it wasn’t about the goal we conceded. It was the number of chances we missed.

“We killed ourselves by not scoring again. We need to have more concentration at both ends of the pitch.”