Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was looking for positives despite slipping to a 0-0 Premier League draw at Everton.
The Blues missed the chance to increase the pressure on EPL leaders Liverpool as they failed to breakdown the resilient Toffees at Goodison Park.
The result ends Chelsea’s impressive streak of eight wins across all competitions with their first dropped points in the Premier League since November 10.
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However, despite the frustration of a potential ‘missed chance’ on Merseyside, the defensive power of Sean Dyche’s hosts cannot be underestimated.
Everton have now completed four clean sheets in their last five home games and Dyche’s charges have only shipped eight EPL goals at home to so far in 2024/25.
Maresca claimed the final result will sting over the festive period, but Everton’s grit has to be respected, and he looks forward to a continued title challenge in 2025.
“That was a real game. I’m very happy because the performance of the boys was fantastic. Sometimes you have to play a different game and we’re learning to play a different game,” as per BBC Sport.
“They are one of the best teams in Europe in terms of clean sheets. I told the players I was more happy than [last week’s] game at Brentford [Chelsea won 2-1]. We tried everything.
“You can always do something better, but we’re happy because this is a tough stadium – not only for us but in the Premier League.”
Chelsea will host Fulham on December 26 before wrapping up 2024 away at Ipswich Town four days later.
