Terry off as Chelsea held by Everton

Instead it will be Everton’s Merseyside rivals Liverpool who will hold a one point lead at the top of the table going into the festive period.

However, Chelsea can feel lucky that they got away with a point at all as Everton really pressed home their man advantage late in the game and were unlucky not to nick a winner.

An uneventful first-half exploded into life in the 35th minute when Terry was giving his marching orders for a bad lunge on Leon Osman.

It did look as if the England centre-half was making a genuine attempt to play the ball but his foot was high and dangerous and after weighing up the decision for a few moments referee Phil Dowd deemed it worthy of a straight red.

The Chelsea players clearly felt that Dowd was against them all evening and Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and Michael Ballack were all booked on the night for dissent.

All this bluster added spice to an otherwise dull first-half with the two best efforts in that period coming from the unlikely boots of Ashley Cole and Joseph Yobo – but Tim Howard in the second minute and Peter Cech in the 43rd were able to deal comfortably with those respective efforts.

Chelsea started the match with Nicolas Anelka up front on his own but swapped him with Didier Drogba at half-time. Branislav Ivanovic also came on at the break for Joe Cole as Chelsea looked to compensate for Terry’s absence.

A man down, they looked less and less likely to score as the match developed but they were at least comfortably heading for a draw until Everton finally started showing some belief in the final 25 minutes.

The Toffees start launching balls into the Chelsea box at regular intervals and Cech had to be on top form to keep them at bay.

He made good saves to tip over a Tony Hibbert deflected cross and also a Joleon Lescott header but the Czech international was then nearly beaten in the 80th minute when Marouane Fellaini’s little flick from a superb low Leighton Baines cross went just inches wide.

Cech then had to make a point blank save to deny Osman in the 84th minute before desperately trying to hang on to the ball as it crept towards the goal; Steven Pienaar bundled the ball home but he was in an offside position, and in any event, it looked like Cech had his hands on the ball.

Ultimately though, Everton’s lack of fire power meant they had to settle for a point, with Tim Cahill again forced to play up front on his own due to the Toffees’ injury crises.

They also suffered a blow at the other end with Joseph Yobo forced off in the 60th minute with what looked like a hamstring injury.

Chelsea of course will also have some issues at the back now with John Terry set to be suspended for three matches although that blow could be cushioned by the fact that Richard Carvalho is almost back to full fitness.

It was the first time in 12 attempts that Chelsea failed to pick up maximum points on the road while Everton have now going eight years without a win over the Londoners.

The result leaves Liverpool FC top with 39 points, one ahead of Chelsea. Aston Villa FC are third on 34 and Manchester United FC fourth on 32 with two games in hand on the other contenders. Arsenal FC are fifth on 31 while Everton, who have won only one home game this season, remain seventh on 26.

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