Chelsea's slender hopes of clinching the Premier League title were squashed away as they were held to a disappointing 0-0 draw by Everton on Wednesday.

Chelsea needed to win all of their remaining matches to remain in contention of claiming the league title but struggled to break past a stubborn Everton defense who rode high on their excellent performance against Manchester United on Saturday.

Everton were content to sit back and defend at the start of the match as Chelsea expectedly dominated the possession. On loan striker Jo had two great chances to put Everton in the lead but was unable to convert them as he first hit his shot straight to Petr Cech while losing his footing and shooting wide at the second attempt.

The Toffees believed they should have been awarded a penalty midway through the first half when Leighton Baines was fouled inside the area by Alex but referee Mark Halsey waved play on.

Everton almost broke the deadlock minutes into the second half when Tim Cahill headed Lars Jacobsen's cross towards the target but Cech was once again at hand to deny the visitors. The nearest that Chelsea came to scoring a goal was through a long range effort from John Terry that was tipped wide by Tim Howard.

With time ticking away, Chelsea desperately pressed ahead in search of a winner but Everton held firm to collect a vital point and edge closer to clinching their qualification to the UEFA Cup next season.