CHELSEA FRUSTRATED IN EVERTON STALEMATE
LIVERPOOL: Chelsea wasted a chance to move level on points with second placed Manchester United as Everton maintained their improvement under Sam Allardyce in a 0-0 draw at Goodison Park on Saturday.
It marked a sixth game unbeaten for Everton under former England boss Allardyce, but Chelsea’s failure to convert possession into goals will not have pleased Blues manager Antonio Conte.
Conte has already conceded his inconsistent team won’t be able to defend the Premier League title and this was another frustrating afternoon for the Italian as the Blues squandered their territorial dominance.
Chelsea remain third and are 13 points behind leaders Manchester City, who play Bournemouth later on Saturday.
Initially, it looked like being an encouraging day for Conte as Chelsea quickly established a pattern of complete dominance.
It took an impressive double goal-line clearance by veteran defender Phil Jagielka to deny the visitors what would have been a deserved lead.
The Everton captain read the situation perfectly as Marcos Alonso’s cross flew through the home area after 10 minutes, reacting sharply to block Tiemoue Bakayoko’s effort.
Jagielka then responded even more impressively as Willian looked certain to convert the rebound, the defender positioning himself to keep out the follow-up effort in similar fashion. Yet for all their superiority in those opening stages, Chelsea struggled to carve out many meaningful chances to trouble home keeper Jordan Pickford. — AFP