Everton 0-0 Chelsea

Phil Jagielka cleared off the line twice in quick succession in the first half

Everton boss Sam Allardyce challenged his side to be more creative as he continued his unbeaten start to the job with a dogged and defensively strong goalless draw against champions Chelsea.

The ninth-placed Toffees have not lost in six Premier League games, five of those since Allardyce took charge.

Captain Phil Jagielka cleared off the line from Tiemoue Bakayoko and Willian in quick succession to frustrate the visitors, who were without suspended top scorer Alvaro Morata.

Chelsea dominated, but struggled to breach the Everton backline and found goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in good form when they did.

The 23-year-old England World Cup hopeful saved smartly from Pedro's effort in the first half and tipped a low Eden Hazard drive wide after the break.

Substitute Ashley Williams then headed against his own crossbar as the Toffees at times rode their luck to keep a fourth clean sheet in six games.

Antonio Conte's Chelsea side stay third, having lost just once in their past 11 league games.

Everton have picked up 11 points in five league games under Allardyce and conceded just twice, after letting in 28 in their previous 14.

"You join a club and there are lots of decisions to be made and you can't hang around too much," said Allardyce. "Those decisions can take a bit longer now because of what the players have achieved on the field.

"The leaky side of this team has been put to bed - it was conceding fours, fives and sixes. Now it's about working on the other side of it in creative terms."

Toffees prove tough to beat

Everton earned a draw despite having no shots on target and only 32.3% possession

Allardyce has promised his Everton players Christmas Day off, saying he hated having to come in for training then as a player, calling it "a complete waste of time".

The former England boss will feel it is a well-earned break for his side, who were without Wayne Rooney against Chelsea because of flu, while defenders Mason Holgate and Williams started on the bench because of illness.

Rooney has enjoyed a revival since his return to Goodison, scoring 10 goals in 16 league games - the quickest he has reached double figures since 2011-12. Williams has recovered from a shaky start to the season under Allardyce's guidance and youngster Holgate has impressed alongside him.

But Allardyce has instilled a solidity among this Everton side that means they are hard to break down whoever starts at the back.

Michael Keane, returning to the side, was superb alongside Jagielka and the captain's double block on the line in the first half epitomised Everton's refusal to lose under their new boss as they restricted Chelsea to few clear-cut chances.

The hosts did, however, miss the subtlety Rooney brings to their direct approach under Allardyce, with his experience and composure to hold the ball up in attack.

But, despite having no shots on target, Everton remain unbeaten in six games with Allardyce's run now including draws against Chelsea and Liverpool.

Chelsea lack cutting edge

Eden Hazard had two shots on target and made three key passes for Chelsea

With Morata absent, Conte again opted for Hazard to lead the line rather than place his trust in out-and-out striker Michy Batshuayi.

Hazard occupied the role in last week's win over Southampton, with Morata recovering from a back injury, but his natural tendency is to drop deep and that meant much of Chelsea's play was in front of Everton's backline.

The visitors created space in wide positions through wing-backs Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses, but found Everton's well-drilled defence equal to that route of attack.

Chelsea had 30 crosses, but most were cleared by an Everton defender, as the red dots above show

Without a focal point in the penalty box the visitors lacked a clinical edge, and their best chances came when Pedro broke free on the counter attack to force Pickford into a save, and Hazard found space to shoot from the edge of the box.

Conte did call for Batshuayi, whose last goals came for the club's under-21s in a Checkatrade Trophy win over MK Dons, with 20 minutes to go but the Belgium forward was denied any real opportunities.

And Chelsea nearly paid the price for their inability to capitalise on their dominance, with Keane heading Everton's best chance of the game over the crossbar in injury time.

Man of the match - Phil Jagielka (Everton)

Captain Jagielka led Everton's defensive line superbly on his return to the side, making a game-high 14 clearances.

Allardyce shores up leaky Toffees

• Everton kept their first Premier League clean sheet in nine games against Chelsea, since a 1-0 win in September 2013.

• However, the Toffees have now failed to score in their past four Premier League games against Chelsea.

• Everton have kept three clean sheets in their five Premier League games under Allardyce - the same number they had kept in their previous 18 in the competition.

• Chelsea have now had two goalless draws in the Premier League this season - they did not have a single one in Conte's first season in charge.

• Chelsea had 25 shots in this match, their most in a Premier League game without scoring since January 2014 (39 vs West Ham).

• Meanwhile, Everton failed to have a single shot on target in a home Premier League game for the first time since 4 December 2011 v Stoke; 2,211 days ago.

'It is an unfair result' - what they said

Everton boss Sam Allardyce: "I am delighted with the players' attitude and application to defending to stifle a side like this. It is a terrific point for us. We had a bit of fortune but got a well-deserved point.

"We didn't use the ball well enough to get up the pitch enough. We have to work on playing out from the back and holding the ball up."

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte on Sky Sports: "We had 26 shots, only eight on target. I think we dominated the game and lots of chances to score. I think it is an unfair result. Everton deserve credit but we deserve to win.

"Maybe Jordan Pickford was the best player for them. We dominated the game and it is a pity to drop two points. It is normal to drop points with a poor performance but not today.

"It is not simple to dominate here, we needed a bit of luck."

What's next?

Everton travel to West Brom in the Premier League on 26 December, kick-off 15:00 GMT, while Chelsea host Brighton at the same time.