Chelsea twice hit the woodwork and were denied a penalty as they were held to a goalless draw by Dynamo Kiev in Group G of the Champions League.
Eden Hazard was denied a goal on his return as keeper Oleksandr Shovkovskiy tipped his attempt on to a post.
Chelsea had a strong penalty appeal turned down when Cesc Fabregas went down after a Serhiy Rybalka challenge.
Willian's free-kick hit the underside of the bar before Asmir Begovic denied Derlis Gonzalez in Ukraine.
Jose Mourinho's side have now won just one out of five in all competitions.
Yet this was a much improved display on the European stage by the reigning Premier League champions following their 2-1 defeat away to Porto on 29 September.
Porto's 2-0 win over Maccabi Tel-Aviv means Chelsea remain third in the group with four points from three games, one behind second-placed Kiev and three adrift of leaders Porto.
Mourinho spot on with tactics
The build-up to the game was dominated by Hazard. Would the Belgium international start after being left out of the starting line-up against Aston Villa at the weekend?
Hazard was indeed restored to the midfield yet Mourinho sprung a surprise by playing Kurt Zouma at right-back for the first time in a Chelsea shirt while Cesar Azpilicueta was left-back.
That was to curtail the threat of Andriy Yarmolenko, who the Chelsea manager had identified as Kiev's main threat.
The tactics worked a treat as Yarmolenko rarely threatened and the Blues turned in their best 45-minute display of the season in the opening half.
Fabregas played in a more forward role, Ramires showed great energy in midfield, Willian was a threat from set-pieces and Diego Costa should hav scored.
Where does this leave Chelsea?
There will understandably be frustration from Mourinho and his players that they failed to turn their first half chances into goals.
However, this could yet be a priceless point for the Blues in terms of qualifying for the last-16.
They are outside the top two qualifying spots at the halfway stage of the group campaign but two of their remaining three games - against Kiev and Porto - are at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea will also be confident of travelling to Israel to face Maccabi Tel-Aviv, bottom of the group without a point, on 24 November.
LINEUP, BOOKINGS (2) & SUBSTITUTIONS (3)
Dynamo Kiev
- 01 Shovkovskiy
- 02 da Silva
- 34 Khacheridi
- 06 Dragovic
- 24 Vida
- 17 Rybalka
- 10 Yarmolenko
- 16 Sydorchuk
- 29 Buyalsky Booked (Garmash - 83' )
- 25 González
- 22 Kravets (Ribeiro Moraes Junior - 78' )
Substitutes
- 04 Miguel Veloso
- 05 Antunes
- 08 Petrovic
- 11 Ribeiro Moraes Junior
- 19 Garmash
- 20 Gusev
- 23 Rybka
Chelsea
- 01 Begovic
- 05 Zouma Booked
- 24 Cahill
- 26 Terry
- 28 Azpilicueta
- 07 Ramires
- 21 Matic
- 22 Willian
- 04 Fàbregas (Oscar - 75' )
- 10 Hazard
- 19 Diego Costa
Substitutes
- 06 Baba
- 08 Oscar
- 09 Falcao
- 12 Mikel
- 14 Traore
- 16 Nunes do Nascimento
- 27 Blackman
Ref: Damir Skomina
Att: 60,291
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