Diego Costa was booked at Sunderland but should Chelsea striker have seen red after Wes Brown and John O'Shea clashes?

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Diego Costa was once again the talking point as Chelsea extended their unbeaten run at the top of the Barclays Premier League table.

But it wasn't for the usual goal scoring reasons as the Blues were held to a 0-0 draw by a stubborn Sunderland side at the Stadium of Light.

Costa instead was the centre of attention following two incidents which could have led to the dismissal of the Spanish striker in the North East.

VIDEO Scroll down for Sportsmail's Big Match Stats: Sunderland 0-0 Chelsea 

Diego Costa of Chelsea (right) catches Sunderland's Wes Brown with an arm while battling for a header during the second half

Diego Costa of Chelsea appears to elbow Wes Brown of Sunderland for which he receives a yellow card

Costa looks on having caught Brown with the arm which led to his yellow card during Chelsea's 0-0 draw at Sunderland

The first involved a tangle with John O'Shea in the first period with the 26-year-old appearing to kick out at John O'Shea following a heavy challenge from the Sunderland defender.

The Spain international wasn't cautioned for the retaliation, with the incident sparking debate over the similarities between that and a similar reaction shown by Gaston Ramirez the previous weekend, which saw the Hull midfielder sent off against Tottenham.

Costa was eventually booked in the second half, but again he caused a debate over whether he was luck to stay on the pitch over the use of his arm in the 54th minute.

Costa is booked by match referee Kevin Friend as Cesc Fabregas leads the Blues protests with Sunderland's Santiago Vergini looking on

Costa checks the condition of Brown as Chelsea's John Terry and Sunderland's Anthony Reveillere argue over the incident

Chelsea's top scorer, who has netted 11 goals this term, appeared to swing a limb at Wes Brown while battling for a header, and although the referee clearly saw the incident, he chose to only book the striker.

The yellow card means Costa will miss the Blues' London derby with rivals Tottenham, and the striker was later substituted in the 76th minute to be replaced by Didier Drogba.

Former Chelsea player and manager Ruud Gullit admitted the striker was lucky to only be booked.

'He's lucky. I think he's lucky to get away with it,' Gullit told Sky Sports. 'The first time you see it you think "Oh my God has something happened there". You can interpret it in two ways. It's unfortunate because he just has his arm there, or if he did it on purpose it is very clever that he did it in this way. You can see there is frustration in him today.'

Costa had earlier been involved with a clash involving John O'Shea with the striker appearing to kick out at the defender following a tackle

Costa left his foot high on a recovering O'Shea as Vergini and Wickham look on for the Black Cats

Wickham appeals for a free-kick as Costa looks on from the ground following the battle with the Sunderland defender

O'Shea protests his innocence following the incident as Costa appeals to the referee with Gary Cahill looking on for the Blues

Sportsmail's Jamie Redknapp also admitted that Costa was on the brink of a red card, but cited the fans wanted to see consistency from referees especially regarding the incident with O'Shea.

'Fans want consistency (with refereeing decisions), Redknapp also told Sky Sports. 'There’s no doubt at all Diego Costa played on the edge today.'

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho admitted he failed to see the elbow incident with Brown.

‘I didn’t see it [Diego Costa elbow incident] but the referee was close and he made in my opinion a very good performance,' Mourinho said to Sky Sports. 'I thought everything was under control. I didn’t see [the elbow incident]. Maybe if I see it on television I have a better opinion.’

Gaston Ramirez was sent off for Hull after a similar kick out at Tottenham's Jan Vertonghen last weekend

Jose Mourinho looks on as Sunderland boss Gus Poyet protests a decision, and the Chelsea manager admitted he didn't see the incident involving Costa and Brown which rules the Spanish striker out the London derby against Tottenham