Aston Villa secured their first point on the road this season with a 0-0 draw at Elland Road against Leeds United.
The first half saw several chances for both sides, but neither could break the deadlock. It was instead overshadowed by 18 fouls being committed, seven of which by the Villans with Ludwig Augustinson going into the book in the sixth minute.
Steven Gerrard’s side had the better opportunities in the opening 45 minutes, registering five shots on target to Leeds’ zero.
The hosts had the first chance on goal through Rodrigo. Rasmus Kristensen played a pass to the forward whose shot was blocked.
Moments later a miscommunication between Ollie Watkins and John McGinn saw Villa waste an opportunity to take the lead. The striker brought the ball down from a cross, but his pass wasn’t read by the Scotsman and the ball went out of play.
The Englishman was at the centre of Villa’s next chance after a mistake from Liam Cooper in Leeds’ defence.
Watkins drove forward with the ball and fired it straight at Illan Meslier, whose save fell to Phillippe Coutinho, but the Brazilian couldn’t make a proper connection with the ball.
Coutinho was in search of his first goal of the campaign. His solo run didn’t prevail, shooting wide of the Whites’ goal.
Ezri Konsa was almost punished for some poor defending. The centre-back stood off Rodrigo allowing the striker space to shoot - his effort luckily went wide.
The game turned scrappy around the 20-minute-mark with Luis Sinisterra receiving a yellow card for a tackle on McGinn.
Konsa rectified his previous mistake with 12 minutes of normal time remaining in the first half. The defender made a strong but fair challenge on Rodrigo in the box.
The hosts picked up two more bookings inside the next five minutes. First, Marc Roca saw yellow for his tackle on Watkins, before Rodrigo went into the book for dissent.
Bailey had the last opportunity of the first half. The Jamaican’s effort was directed right at Meslier after Jacob Ramsey’s pass.
Gerrard was forced into an early change after debutant Augustinson suffered an injury in the fourth minute of added time - he was replaced by Jan Benarek.
The beginning of the second half was one to remember as Sinisterra saw red just three minutes after the break. He didn’t take enough yards for Villa’s free-kick, leading to him blocking a pass and being dismissed.
Villa almost had the opener through Coutinho but his acrobatic effort hit the post and Watkins then failed to convert the rebound.
Substitute Emi Buendia went close with just under 20 minutes remaining. The Argentine’s curling effort went wide of Leeds’ goal.
Villa remained in control of the game against the Whites’ 10-men with Konsa firing his header wide of the hosts’ goal from a corner.
Despite Gerrard’s side looking the most likely to open the scoring, Leeds held their own and prevented Villa from getting a third win of the season.
Here’s how we rated Villa’s players...
1. Emiliano Martinez - 7
The Argentine had little to do, making just one save all game.
2. Ashley Young - 7
The full-back helped significantly in both defensive and attacking phases, whipping crosses from both sides.
3. Ezri Konsa - 7
Made up for his mistake in allowing Rodrigo to shoot clear on goal by making crucial tackles and link-up play down the right.
4. Tyrone Mings - 7
The centre-back used his physicality to his advantage, leading to Leeds have just one shot on target