Diego Costa escapes punishment despite Chelsea star appearing to strike West Ham United's Aaron Cresswell

Chelsea striker Diego Costa was involved in yet another confrontation on Wednesday as he appeared to strike Aaron Cresswell during his side's 1-0 win against West Ham.

Costa, who was not punished for the incident, has a reputation for trying to unsettle his opponents by throwing his weight around. 

The 26-year-old striker escaped the attention of Premier League official Andre Marriner, who failed to see the severity of the incident

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce warned his players against trying to provoke or intimidate Costa ahead of the fixture at Upton Park.

'I think trying to wind Costa up only makes him better – which is a silly thing to do,' said Allardyce.

'He will take a bit of shackling. We can't get involved with him. I've told our central defenders not to get involved with the fact he might try and upset them.

'He's an old-fashioned type of centre-forward because he seems to like getting motivated on the physical and niggle aspect of it all. I've told them not to get involved in that and get distracted, simply to focus on him in the final third.' 

Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho's side remain five points clear at the top of the table - with a game in hand - following their win over their London rivals.