Rafa Benitez was unable to inspire Chelsea to victory in his first match in charge but the Blues nonetheless earned a point after holding Manchester City to a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge.
In a hard-fought contest played out in driving rain, goalscoring chances were at a premium, with Sergio Aguero's header straight at Petr Cech in the first half and Ashley Cole's rising strike over the bar late on the closest the two sides came to scoring.
The stalemate means that Manchester City missed out on the opportunity to dislodge their city rivals Manchester United from the Barclays Premier League summit, where their lead from Roberto Mancini's side stands at a point, while Chelsea remain in third place, a point behind West Bromwich Albion.
Elsewhere, Andy Carroll scored his first goal for West Ham United but it came too late to prevent Sam Allardyce’s charges from suffering a 3-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur, for whom Jermain Defoe scored twice and Gareth Bale was also on target.
There was an unhappy return to Southampton for Alan Pardew, whose Newcastle United side were condemned to a 2-0 reverse as a result of goals in either half by Adam Lallana and Gaston Ramirez.
Earlier in the day Brendan Rodgers also failed to find victory against his former side, although Liverpool emerged from their encounter with Swansea City with a point following another 0-0 draw.
For match reports, statistics and photostreams from the matches follow the Matchday Live links below.
Chelsea 0-0 Manchester City | #CHEMCI | Matchday Live >>
Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 West Ham United | #TOTWHU | Matchday Live >>
Southampton 2-0 Newcastle United | #SOUNEW | Matchday Live >>
Swansea City 0-0 Liverpool | #SWALIV | Matchday Live >>
Saturday's matches
Everton 1-1 Norwich City | #EVENOR | Matchday Live >>
Man Utd 3-1 Queens Park Rangers | #MUNQPR | Matchday Live >>
Stoke City 1-0 Fulham | #STKFUL | Matchday Live >>
Wigan Athletic 3-2 Reading | #WIGRDG | Matchday Live >>
Aston Villa 0-0 Arsenal | #AVLARS | Matchday Live >>
