Unai Emery endured his first-ever 0-0 draw in the Premier League at the 97th time of asking as Aston Villa were held by a determined Everton side at Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon.
It was a stop-start affair throughout with the game broken up by fouls and dissent, with referee David Coote pausing play for nearly every slight contact. Alex Moreno had a stunning low drive from outside the area disallowed in the first half, while both goalkeepers were tested regularly but to no avail for either side.
Villa sustained some early pressure from the hosts and very nearly paid the price for a sloppy error from a goal kick. Emiliano Martinez's pass was short and Douglas Luiz was dispossessed easily by an Everton forward. Amadou Onana sprinted to try and poke the ball home but Martinez was there to claim, taking the brunt of the challenge, including a stud to the chest.
In the case of Moreno's ruled-out goal, the Spaniard thought he'd given the Villans the lead in the 18th minute with a beautiful 25-yard strike into the bottom right corner, but it was disallowed following a four-minute check from VAR. It took an age for the officials to decide but Leon Bailey was about a foot offside in the build-up despite initially looking on due to a grounded Arnaut Danjuma.
It was cagey for the rest of the first half but both teams were able to get in behind with relative ease, forcing the two shot-stoppers into some important saves. Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey saw efforts denied by Jordan Pickford, while Martinez made two tremendous reflex actions to keep out close-range strikes from Dominic Calvert-Lewin and James Garner.
The second period was similar as there wasn't much flow to the game, with countless fouls and both sides seeing players go down with knocks. The odd chance was created as John McGinn struck merely inches wide from just outside the area and Toffees left-back Vitaliy Mykolenko made an outstanding last-ditch block to deny substitute Matty Cash.
Villa looked the likelier side to score as Jhon Duran, off the bench, had two or three clear-cut chances. The best of the bunch was a glorious opening in the six-yard area as Duran connected with a delightful Cash cross but the ball went agonisingly wide of the bottom left corner.
Here are our Villa player ratings as 39,284 witness a 0-0 stalemate at Goodison.
9. Leon Bailey - 6 (off 64’)
Stung the gloves of Pickford with a decent near post effort in the first half. Looked a threat when peeling off on the right wing. Did well to get back and conduct his defensive duties. | Getty Images
10. Moussa Diaby - 5 (off 64’)
Relatively quiet alongside Watkins, with just the odd run in behind mopped up by Pickford rushing out. Disappointed with his passes into the final third as well. | Getty Images
11. Ollie Watkins - 7
Got a shot on target early doors to warn Everton of his threat. Held up the play well and made several threatening runs in between Tarkowski and Branthwaite. | Getty Images
12. Jhon Duran - 6 (on 64’)
Had plenty of sights of goal but lacked composure when he got shots away, firing either high or wide. | Getty Images