Aston Villa missed out on the opportunity to go level at the top of the Premier League table with Liverpool following a 0-0 draw with Everton at Goodison Park.
The Toffees move one point clear of the bottom three to bring their three-match losing run to an end.
It is the first-ever goalless draw of Unai Emery's career as a Premier League manager and only the sixth top-flight fixture this season to end without a goal.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Man City
MCI
|
38 | +62 | 91 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
38 | +62 | 89 |
| 3 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
38 | +45 | 82 |
| 4 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
38 | +15 | 68 |
How the match unfolded
Everton were boosted by the return from injury of Abdoulaye Doucoure for his first appearance since December, while captain Seamus Coleman made a club record 355th Premier League appearance for the Toffees, moving ahead of Tim Howard in the rankings.
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For Villa, Diego Carlos, Douglas Luiz, Moussa Diaby and Ollie Watkins came back into the starting XI following their FA Cup third-round win against Middlesbrough last week, while fit-again Youri Tielemans was named on the bench.
Both sets of players wore black armbands to honour former Toffees chairman Peter Johnson, who died earlier this week.
Everton started on the front foot, but it was Villa who thought they had taken the lead on 18 minutes when Alex Moreno's brilliant low finish fizzed past Jordan Pickford into the bottom corner. However, a VAR review ruled that Leon Bailey was offside in the build-up, and the goal was disallowed.
Watkins then rolled an effort agonisingly wide and then Pickford produced a superb save from Bailey after a clever dummy by John McGinn.
Emery had goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to thank for denying Everton with two huge saves at the end of the first half, as he kept out Dominic Calvert-Lewin and then James Garner soon after.
Villa came out strongly after the break, with a vital challenge by James Tarkowski on Diaby averting the danger soon after the restart.
Tarkowski was in the right place once again, this time cutting out the ball as Watkins tried to find McGinn on the edge of the area.
Villa substitute Jhon Duran headed straight into the arms of Pickford, while Doucoure cut inside and had a shot blocked when a pass to Beto, who was unmarked, seemed the better option.
Matty Cash, a 74th-minute replacement for Douglas Luiz, was close to putting Villa ahead as the match entered eight minutes of stoppage time, only for Vitaliy Mykolenko to make a vital block before Coleman denied McGinn.
Duran sent another header inches wide of the upright from Moreno's hanging delivery with the final chance of the match.
Villa remain third on 43 points, level with second-place Manchester City, who have a superior goal difference.
Everton stay one place outside the bottom three, one point clear of Luton Town, who have played a match fewer.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 |
Brentford
BRE
|
38 | -9 | 39 |
| 17 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
38 | -18 | 32 |
| 18 |
Luton
LUT
|
38 | -33 | 26 |
| 19 |
Burnley
BUR
|
38 | -37 | 24 |
| 20 |
Sheffield Utd
SHU
|
38 | -69 | 16 |
Next five Premier League fixtures
Key facts
This was Emery’s first ever 0-0 draw as a Premier League manager, in his 97th match in charge in the competition.
Villa (107) and Everton (104) have been involved in more Premier League goalless draws than any other sides, with eight of those coming in meetings against one another; only Everton v Liverpool (12) and Everton v Spurs (9) have seen more 0-0s in the competition.
Villa are unbeaten in 10 Premier League meetings with Everton (W7 D3), their longest top-flight unbeaten run against a single opponent since another run against Everton from November 2006 to January 2012 (12 matches).
Since a run of four consecutive league wins between 2-16 December, Everton have failed to win any of their last four matches in the competition (D1 L3).
