CHELSEA squandered the chance to go top, albeit temporarily, as Everton pleased neighbors Liverpool for the second week in a row.
It was Arsenal who were left frustrated at the Emirates last weekend, and this time it was Enzo Maresca's side who failed to find a way past the Toffees' tricky backline.
Chelsea were chasing a sixth straight Premier League win since November 2019, but instead fired their first clean sheet since the opening weekend.
It wasn't just the weather that was miserable on Merseyside as Cole Palmer and his fellow strikers failed to find the spark.
And at the end they had to thank the great centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo for allowing him to escape back to the capital with some of the spoils after his brilliant clearance at the death.
It started with new hope among the locals of Goodison for the first match under Friedkin Group ownership, and even the terrible wind and rain couldn't put a dampener on it.
Although Maresca's high-flying side threatened to do so as soon as the action got underway.
It took just three minutes for Palmer to get his first sniff as he drove forward and pulled a shot wide.
And the early pressure continued as Nicolas Jackson almost surrounded Jordan Pickford but ran out of room to rattle any more nerves.
Despite having the wind at their backs, Dominic Calvert-Lewin's header straight to Robert Sanchez was Everton's best early offering.
And even that led to the visitors responding, with Pedro Neto forcing Pickford into a routine save.
The Everton bodies continued to keep Chelsea at bay and frustrated, and it wasn't until the 26th minute that the first big chance presented itself.
Excellent work from Palmer saw Jackson score a tap-in just yards out, but the England stopper produced a superb point-black save to keep it goalless.
Maresca's men were now going through the gears, and Pickford did well moments later to deny Jackson again after initially being almost caught in no man's land.
Things started to get personal between the Everton stopper and Chelsea's Senegalese striker as the match came more and more to life.
Although it was the post that came to the Toffees' rescue and then denied Jackson.
Enzo Fernandez's corner whizzed through everyone and found Jackson free in the back, only for his header to bounce back off the post.
The danger was still not over when Malo Gusto fired the rebound wide, with Pickford flying at him feet first in an attempt to stop him – although a VAR check cleared him of any wrongdoing.
Everton's rampant second half
However, it was at the other end that the next action took place when Sanchez produced a flying diving save to his right.
A rare leap forward from Abdoulaye Doucoure led to him passing the ball to Orel Mangala to pull the trigger from distance.
Everton, who had just 24 percent of the ball in the opening period, seemed happy to be there and let Chelsea try to play around them.
But they almost managed to beat the visiting Blues as they made a rampant start to the second half.
And Chelsea had Sánchez to thank for keeping them level when he produced a huge save to smother Jack Harrison's shot as the winger was found by Iliman Ndiaye.
Dyche's men played with much more conviction, and the Goodison faithful responded by upping the vocal levels.
Penalty shouting
And they screamed for a penalty when James Tarkowski tangled his legs with Axel Disasi, and the Toffees skipper gave his rival a mouthful after receiving a nudge from the France international for good measure.
Ashley Young was left out of Everton's Boxing Day trip to Manchester City when he knocked down Jadon Sancho and received his fifth booking of the season as things heated up.
Meanwhile, it just wasn't happening for Palmer, and a free-kick straight into the wall summed up his afternoon on Merseyside.
And as his side continued to snuff out the threat of Chelsea's talisman, it was Dyche who smelled blood.
With twenty minutes to go he made a three-way substitution with Jesper Lindstrom, Beto and Seamus Coleman for Calvert-Lewin, Harrison and Young.
And Beto and Lindstrom were immediately in action when the latter fired a ball low across the away team's area.
Chelsea couldn't clear the lines, prompting Ndiaye to rush forward to knock home the loose ball, before Tosin made a great goal-line block to ensure they left with their point.
There was still time for Mangala to get Sánchez diving down the right, but there was to be no late drama as the Toffees secured their fifth goalless draw of the season.
And it may not have been pretty, but that's also four nil out of five as Dyche continues to keep them out of harm's way.
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