Martínez’s brilliance and Everton’s wastefulness keep Villa’s drought alive in a bruising stalemate
Everton and Aston Villa fought out a scrappy, ill-tempered 0-0 at Hill Dickinson Stadium that said plenty about both teams’ current truths. Everton dominated the territory and the shot count, but a pair of glaring misses from Beto and a string of outstanding saves from Emiliano Martínez kept the scoreboard unmoved. The returning Villa goalkeeper denied Jack Grealish and then, most dramatically, turned away Michael Keane’s close-range header to preserve a point.
Villa rarely threatened, but almost stole it when Emiliano Buendía's second-half strike deflected off James Tarkowski and skidded narrowly wide as Jordan Pickford scrambled. The result extends Villa's Premier League goal drought to four matches and 467 minutes, leaving them 19th. Everton, who would have gone level with Arsenal and Liverpool with a win, remains fifth after a performance full of control but short on finishing.
Everton in Control, Villa in Survival Mode