Chelsea miss chance to go top with Everton stalemate

Chelsea missed the chance to go top of the Premier League as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Everton at Goodison Park.

The windy conditions played their part in a scrappy affair, which saw the Blues fail to score in the league for the first time in 16 matches.

Chelsea’s best chances of the match fell to Nicolas Jackson in the opening period with the forward being denied at close-range by Jordan Pickford before seeing his header from a corner glance the upright.

Everton failed to create anything of note in the first half but went close in the second as Robert Sanchez produced a superb stop to deny Jack Harrison from inside the box before Tosin Adarabioyo’s excellent block kept out Iliman Ndiaye from a matter of yards.

The result sees Chelsea miss the chance to leapfrog Liverpool into first ahead of the Reds’ trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this afternoon and Enzo Maresca’s men instead remain one point behind the leaders.

As for Sean Dyche’s side, they move up 15th ahead of Crystal Palace on goal difference and with a game in hand on the Eagles. They are now four points clear of the relegation zone.

It marks another positive result for the Toffees after their goalless draw away at Arsenal last week while things are looking up off the pitch too after the Friedkin Group’s completed takeover of the club this week.

Dyche’s side will be hoping to continue this impressive run against the league’s elite as they travel to Manchester City on boxing day.

Maresca’s side, who failed to extend their winning run in the league to six this afternoon, return to Stamford Bridge to host west-London rivals Fulham.

Chelsea came into this clash as top scorers in the Premier League and with the most away goals in the division but it was a largely frustrating afternoon for the Blues’ attack.

Jackson was kept quiet following his couple of chances in the opening period while Cole Palmer failed to demonstrate his usual quality in the final third.

The result itself won’t be overly concerning for Maresca but he will be take not of his side failing to tackle a low block, a habit which became familiar last season under Mauricio Pochettino.

Meanwhile, after looking defensively vulnerable in the opening stages of the campaign, Everton have now kept clean sheets in their last three leagues ties and in five of their last six.

Despite the Toffees scoring just once in their last six, Dyche has made them an incredibly tough side to face and one looks well setup to avoid relegation, with only five sides in the division conceding fewer this season.