Manchester United manager David Moyes has expressed his belief that Nemanja Vidic did not deserve to be sent off during his side's 3-1 defeat to Chelsea this afternoon.

Vidic was shown a straight red card in the closing stages of the match for a lunging tackle on Eden Hazard as he looked to stop a Chelsea counter-attack.

Rafael da Silva courted controversy moments later with a two-footed challenge of his own that only drew a yellow from referee Phil Dowd, and Moyes has acknowledged that the Brazilian could have been given his marching orders despite disagreeing with the Vidic decision.

"I thought Vidic wasn't a sending-off, but I've seen Rafa's and I think that could have been a sending off," PA quotes Moyes as saying.

The defeat leaves United 14 points behind league leaders Arsenal in the Premier League table, while they trail fourth-placed Liverpool by six points.