LONDON: Chelsea were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Everton on Sunday as they lost ground to fellow title-chasers Liverpool who won earlier in the day.

Chelsea needed three points after Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Fulham but they could not make their home advantage count against a well-organised Everton side and failed to score for only the second time in the league this season.

After a tight and often scrappy first half, Chelsea improved in the second period but, despite remaining unbeaten in the league, they were unable to convert their chances.

Everton’s England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who produced a fine save from a Marcos Alonso volley earlier, prevented Alvaro Morata from opening the scoring immediately after the restart with a dive to his right.

Alonso hit the post in the 65th minute as Chelsea applied more pressure but were ultimately unable to break Everton down.

The result left Chelsea in third place on 28 points, two points behind Liverpool and one behind champions Manchester City who were hosting local rivals Manchester United later on Sunday.

Earlier, goals by Mohamed Salah and Xherdan Shaqiri took Liverpool from third place to the top of the table with victory over bottom club Fulham at Anfield.

Juergen Klopp’s side made hard work of it for 40 minutes, however, and could easily have fallen behind.

Just before halftime the visitors’ Serbian striker Aleksandar Mitrovic had a headed goal disallowed for offside by the closest of margins.

Liverpool immediately counter-attacked and Salah went clear to open the scoring.

Shaqiri’s side-footed volley after 53 minutes doubled the lead, pushing Fulham towards a sixth successive Premier League defeat, which equals a club record.

With only one win in their 12 matches, they remain two points behind the rest and have the worst defensive record in the league, having conceded 31 times.

FOYTH FIRES SPURS

On Saturday, Juan Foyth scored his first-ever goal for Tottenham Hotspur to earn a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace that had moved Mauricio Pochettino’s side provisionally level on points with second-place Chelsea and Liverpool in the standings.

Foyth’s goal for Spurs came a week after his nightmare debut saw him concede two penalties in the 3-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The 20-year-old Argentine centre-back responded in the best possible way by producing a brave header from close range in the 66th minute at a rain-lashed Selhurst Park.

Action on the field seemed very much an afterthought at King Power Stadium as Leicester City honoured their late owner who was killed with four others in a helicopter crash two weeks ago.

The 0-0 draw with Burnley was the first game at the stadium since the tragic accident that saw Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s helicopter crash shortly after the previous home game.

Newcastle United sealed a second successive league win for the first time in nine months, as Salomon Rondon scored a brace in their 2-1 win over Bournemouth at St James’ Park to move out of the bottom three on to nine points.

The other two games were 1-1 draws. Felipe Anderson’s goal earned West Ham United a point at Huddersfield Town, and Jose Holebas equalised with a deflected strike nine minutes from time to earn Watford a draw at Southampton.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2018