Chelsea 0 - 0 Everton

Back to the Bridge after the exertions of a successful Wembley semi final for a dress rehearsal of the FA cup final. Its the same team that started at Wembley so no rest for the victorious.

The opening 20mins are bossed by the Blues in terms of possession but the best efforts have gone to Everton. On 7mins, Cech saves from Jo with his legs and on 22 Pienaar curls one close but just wide. The same Mr Pienaar gives away a needless free kick on 27mins but Ballacks' free kick doesn't come down quickly enough, There's a good shout for an Everton penalty on 32mins when Alex leaves a lazy leg out on Baines but the ref waves away the appeals. Its now a much more even contest. With 3mins to go Malouda gives a woeful ball away to Cahill who finds Jo on the edge of the box but JT covers up the error. Baines is regularly getting in between Anelka and Ivanovich which is causing big problems down the right but a largely frustrating half ends 0-0. Guus wont be happy.

Surprisingly there are no changes at half time so the staring 11 had better improve but within 2mins Cahill gets a free header in the box - thankfully, Cech safely gathers. The Blues are starting to look sharper but the final ball is lazy; particularly from Anelka. Kalou is warming up and unsurprisingly he replaces Anelka on the hour. Ess also gets a rest as well as the Jedi also comes on pushing Ballack further forward. JT steps up to show how its done by rifling in a 35yrd drive but Howard makes the save. Yobo flattens Malouda on the edge of the box but the ref and linesman conspire to miss it completely. Chelsea are stepping up the pace in the last 20mins and a great ball from Ivanovich falls to Lamps but the shot is smothered. A minute later and Malouda's cross is headed over by Kalou. Its Maloudas last action as he's replaced by Di Santo. Its all Chelsea as we enter the last 10mins as Kalous drive is headed clear by Lescott but Everton still look lively on the break. A long hoof out of defence on 90mins finds Jo in a one on one with Cech who stoops to head away and gets a knock for his troubles as 4mins of added time goes up. Ivanovich finds the Drog who spins but his shot crashes back off the crossbar. Its the last action of a frustrating night that ends all square.

Chelsea have dropped 18 points to date at home and that explains why the premiership has been beyond us for some time now. Still, there's the Champions League and an FA cup final left to contest - Come on u Blues.