For the Manchester United players returning home from Japan after an 11½-hour flight, this was the perfect antidote to the disorientating effects of jet lag. They may have been crowned world champions in Yokohama, but there could be nothing more uplifting on their return last night than this latest frustration for Chelsea, which featured a red card for John Terry and meant that none of United’s principal rivals in the title race have won a game during their absence.

By Boxing Day, it will have been 20 days since any of the so-called “big four” in the Barclays Premier League picked up three points, but, while United return home galvanised by their success in the Club World Cup, Chelsea appear to be running into a wall.

These were the first Premier League points they have dropped on their travels all season, but it says everything about an arduous night on Merseyside that Luiz Felipe Scolari will look upon this as a point gained. With Terry sent off in the 35th minute for a late lunge on Leon Osman — correctly, despite the inevitable protests of Scolari and his players — his team-mates spent much of the evening pushed back against the ropes by an Everton side chasing a rare home win.

Everton might have claimed the victory that their efforts deserved had they had not been without all four of their recognised centre forwards through injury and had Phil Dowd, the referee, and his officials not cut short the home supporters’ celebrations when Steven Pienaar put the ball in the net with six minutes remaining.

Pienaar, pouncing as Osman’s shot was stopped by Petr Cech, was correctly deemed to have been in an offside position and in any case appeared to kick the ball from the goalkeeper’s grasp. David Moyes, the Everton manager, admitted as much afterwards, and his reaction was in stark contrast to Scolari, who, still harbouring a misplaced sense of injustice, ducked his post-match media duties in protest at Dowd’s performance, which, the odd pernickety moment aside, was first-class.

The sending-off? It was blatant. Terry, crossing the halfway line and overrunning the ball on the left-hand side, caught Osman with a tackle that left the Everton midfield player with a bruised ankle. It was only a split-second late, it was one-footed and it was an honest attempt to win the ball, but it was also wild and dangerous. That equates to a red card, regardless of intent or how many feet were raised. If Terry thinks that such a challenge is permitted these days, he clearly does not know that the laws have changed since his schooldays. Considering that most professionals struggle to get their heads around the offside trap, this would not be as surprising as it should be.

“Phil, Phil,” the Chelsea defender called as he left the field — his pleas directed at Dowd, the referee, rather than Scolari — but others carried their protests further. Lampard and Ashley Cole were soon booked for acts of frustration, respectively for dissent and failing to retreat ten yards at a free kick on the edge of their own penalty area, while eyewitnesses said that Scolari followed Dowd down the tunnel at half-time, repeatedly asking, “Are you afraid? Are you afraid?”

Dowd must have been tempted to reply that he is one referee who is not afraid to send off the England captain; as Alan Shearer and David Beckham might concede under interrogation, the position has appeared at times to carry some kind of immunity.

It was disappointing to see Chelsea losing their way like this, because they had begun the evening in impressive style. There were less than two minutes on the clock when, with Tony Hibbert napping, Ashley Cole stole into the Everton penalty area and tested Tim Howard with a rasping left-foot shot that the goalkeeper turned over the crossbar. At times in the first half they passed the ball magnificently well, but, with Nicolas Anelka having one of his less productive evenings — he was replaced by Didier Drogba at half-time, with Scolari also sending on Branislav Ivanovic for Joe Cole in a tactical reshuffle — there was no penetration. Anelka hit the post at one point, but from an offside position. Lampard had a shot deflected over the crossbar by Hibbert, but that, too, would not have counted had it gone in, with Anelka penalised for handball in the build-up.

Drogba was sent on with instructions to hold the ball up, but the forward, who will look back on 2008 as an annus horribilis, is either not fit, not interested or both. Everton did not have a single striker available and had to make do, again, with Marouane

Fellaini roaming behind Tim Cahill, but those two made far more impression on the opposing defence than either Anelka or Drogba. The towering Fellaini has the kind of presence that terrifies opposition defenders, but his two tame close-range efforts in the second half will only lend weight to the Evertonian school of thought that he needs a haircut if his headers are to carry the requisite power to trouble goalkeepers.

It was Joleon Lescott, producing his most commanding display of a disappointing season, who came closest to scoring before Pienaar’s effort. Having been restored to centre half after an injury to Joseph Yobo, he strode forward in the 77th minute to meet a Mikel Arteta corner with a perfect header, but Cech, diving high to his left, was equal to his effort. Moments later, Leighton Baines, the substitute, swung in a low cross from the left and Fellaini’s near-post flick drifted inches wide. Chelsea were living dangerously. Very dangerously as it turned out.

Everton (4-2-3-1): T Howard — A Hibbert, J Yobo (sub: L Baines, 61min), P Jagielka, J Lescott — P Neville, M Arteta — L Osman, M Fellaini, S Pienaar — T Cahill. Substitutes not used: C Nash, J Rodwell, D Gosling, J P Kissock, A van der Meyde, L Jutkiewicz.

Chelsea (4-1-4-1): P Cech — J Bosingwa, Alex, J Terry, A Cole — J O Mikel — J Cole (sub: B Ivanovic, 46), M Ballack, F Lampard, Deco (sub: W Bridge, 87) — N Anelka (sub: D Drogba, 46). Substitutes not used: C Cudicini, J Belletti, F Malouda, S Kalou. Booked: Lampard, A Cole, Ballack. Sent off: Terry.

Referee: P Dowd.