VAVEL
So, there we have it. Unai Emery’s first goalless draw in English league football. It has taken the Spaniard 97 games to oversee a match without a goal during his time as manager at Arsenal and now Aston Villa and it came in a match against Everton that hardly set the pulses racing.
The Villa manager’s run might have continued had Alex Moreno’s 18th-minute strike not been ruled out for offside, Dominic Calvert-Lewin showed more conviction with his one-on-one effort and a little composure came with the handful of late chances that saw the game finish with a slight crescendo.
What will be most concerning for Sean Dyche is that Calvert-Lewin squandered the best of those openings and it is now 13 games in which his striker has failed to score. As a whole, Everton have fallen into a goal void as this was their third successive outing without scoring.
Dyche’s team still find themselves looking over their shoulder. They remain a point above the relegation zone and although this halted a run of three successive league defeats, it continued a run of underwhelming performances.
A draw was not enough for Villa to go level on points with Premier League leaders Liverpool, but did see them join second-placed Manchester City.
Story of the game
Everton were lifted by the return of Abdoulaye Doucoure after a five-game absence with a hamstring injury during which they failed to register a win.
Dyche was also able to call on Calvert-Lewin after common sense prevailed and his red card was rescinded but Dwight McNeil, who went off injured in that FA Cup draw with Crystal Palace, was only fit enough to start on the bench.
Seamus Coleman led Everton on a landmark day as the 35-year-old captain made a club record 355th Premier League appearance, only highlighting further what a bargain his signing for £60,000 was in 2009.
Villa were without Jacob Ramsey because of injury but Emery was able to restore the majority of his league regulars after advancing in the FA Cup; that included Ollie Watkins, who has been involved in 22 of his team’s 43 top-flight goals this term.
Emery’s side swatted Everton aside 4-0 earlier this season in the previous instalment of English football’s most played league fixture but were put under early pressure here from their hosts who sought the upper hand.
An early opening fell for Arnaut Danjuma but the forward could not connect properly with his shot. The loanee, who has reportedly had interest from Lyon this week, was also released down the left by Jarrad Branthwaite but his accurate cross towards Doucoure was intercepted by Moreno.
Villa had started rather sluggishly but Watkins shooting straight at Jordan Pickford from a tight angle served notice of them growing into the game. Five minutes later the visitors had the ball past the Everton goalkeeper but a lengthy VAR check ruled it out for offside.
A short corner was worked to Moreno on the edge of the Everton area and the full back chested the ball down and sweetly struck a shot into the bottom corner. However, Leon Bailey was not played onside Danjuma, who was floored at the back post, and a drawn-out VAR check disallowed the goal.
That tight call certainly ignited Villa who were on top for the rest of the half. Watkins’s shot dribbled across goal but Villa came again with Bailey drilling a low effort that Pickford had to palm away to safety.
