Leaders Chelsea were held to a goalless draw at St Andrews by Birmingham in a thoroughly entertaining Boxing Day encounter.

The game had just about everything barring a goal as Christian Benitez saw a goal disallowed, Alex hit the woodwork for Chelsea with a blistering free-kick, and both keepers produced world-class saves. The match also saw Florent Malouda dismissed with just a few minutes to go for a second yellow card.

Whilst Joe Hart was busier than counterpart Petr Cech, Alex McLeish's side deserved the point which now means they are undefeated in ten Premier League games.

Birmingham are also the first team this season to stop Carlo Ancelotti's men from scoring.

Ancelotti had decided to hand Daniel Sturridge - whose father Michael and uncle Simon are former Birmingham players - his first league start in the absence of the injured Nicolas Anelka, whilst Birmingham were unchanged for the seventh successive game.

The home side carved out the first chance less than a minute into the match, Barry Ferguson catching Chelsea cold with a sweeping pass that Cameron Jerome brought under control only to fire off target.

Chelsea right-back Branislav Ivanovic came close to opening the scoring in the 11th minute when he rose to meet Malouda's corner but headed just over.

Frank Lampard scooped a 35-yard effort well over as Chelsea continued to push forward, while Juliano Belletti headed just wide from a tight angle in the 18th minute.

Didier Drogba continued the assault when he met Ivanovic's cross from deep with a powerful volley that whistled wide, and soon afterwards Sturridge blasted a shot that Joe Hart did well to save.

Lampard's snap-shot forced another good save from Hart after good forward play by Drogba to create the opening.

Ruled out

Birmingham had the ball in the net in the 31st minute only for it to be ruled out somewhat harshly.

When the ball was fired back into the box after a free-kick, with Drogba lying injured, Liam Ridgewell directed the ball towards goal - only for Benitez, apparently in an offside position, to stab it over the line and see the goal

ruled out by the assistant referee's flag. However, television replays suggested

the home fans' frustration was justified, with the prostrate Drogba playing the striker onside.

Chelsea hit back, with Alex's powerful free-kick from distance smashing into the crossbar with half-time approaching.

In added time, Sturridge had a glorious opportunity when Drogba crossed from the right but the youngster's volley at the far post was narrowly wide.

After a quiet opening to the second half in which Chelsea probed without making headway, City striker Benitez cut inside for a shot that Terry blocked well with his head in the 58th minute.

Livewire Benitez was Birmingham's dangerman and he forced Malouda to foul him and concede a yellow card on the hour following more determined dribbling.

From the resulting free-kick, Sebastian Larsson curled a trademark effort towards the top left-hand corner that Petr Cech did well to save, injuring himself against the post in the process but recovering quickly.

The visitors continued to press at the other end and Belletti and Lampard had half-chances, while Ancelotti replaced Sturridge with Salomon Kalou in the 67th minute.

Kalou nearly had an immediate impact as his cross from the right found Malouda, who miscued woefully in lots of space.

Hart produced another excellent save from Drogba's shot in the 71st minute before Lampard scuffed a first-time effort from the corner that followed. Birmingham broke forward in the 74th minute after James McFadden fed Jerome but the striker could not provide an end product as he was smothered in the Chelsea box.

Malouda's nightmarish afternoon was complete when he received a second yellow card in the closing stages for an ill-judged challenge on Stephen Carr, while substitutes Keith Fahey and Damien Johnson both created half-chances for Birmingham during six minutes of added time.

Birmingham City	Team Statistics	Chelsea
0	Goals	0
0	1st Half Goals	0
2	Shots on Target	7
6	Shots off Target	15
6	Blocked Shots	8
7	Corners	11
6	Fouls	17
4	Offsides	3
1	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	1
58.8	Passing Success	81.7
24	Tackles	12
58.3	Tackles Success	66.7
37	Possession	63
46.7	Territorial Advantage	53.3

Teams

Birmingham City  Hart, Carr, R. Johnson, Dann, Ridgewell, Larsson (D. Johnson 88), Ferguson, Bowyer, McFadden (Fahey 77), Jerome, Benitez
Subs Not Used Taylor, Phillips, McSheffrey, Carsley, Vignal
Booked Bowyer
Goals

Chelsea  Cech, Ivanovic, Alex, Terry, A. Cole, Belletti, Mikel (Ballack 85), Malouda, Lampard (J. Cole 79), Sturridge (Kalou 67), Drogba
Subs Not Used  Hilario, Ferreira, Zhirkov
Booked  Ivanovic, Malouda
Sent Off  Malouda
Goals 

Attendance 28,958