Unai Emery endures his Premier League first as Aston Villa miss a chance to match Liverpool.
Unai Emery’s Aston Villa are battling the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and champions Manchester City for this season’s Premier League title but suffered a blow on Sunday
On Sunday, Unai Emery suffered his first goalless draw as a Premier League manager, as Aston Villa failed to beat Everton at Goodison Park.
Villa, this season’s surprise package, would have tied Liverpool for first place in the Premier League table if they had won on Merseyside. Nonetheless, Emery’s men were forced to settle for a goalless draw to maintain third, two points behind Liverpool.
Emery has gone 96 Premier League games without a goalless draw until Sunday. That streak began in August 2018, when he took command of Arsenal in his first competitive encounter in England. The Gunners sacked him in November 2019.
Emery’s Premier League journey resumed in November 2022, when he was appointed by Villa. The Spaniard has done an excellent job at Villa Park, transforming them from relegation candidates to title contenders, but he will be frustrated with the result on Sunday.
Unai Emery endures his Premier League first as Aston Villa miss a chance to match Liverpool.
Alex Moreno’s brilliant left-footed effort into the bottom corner from the edge of the box gave Villa the lead in the 18th minute of the Goodison Park battle. Everton raised an offside appeal, and the VAR official agreed to rule the goal out.
The VAR review lasted approximately four minutes. “Saw there was a VAR check so thought it would be an ideal time to walk the dog,” Gary Lineker wrote on X. They were still staring at it when we returned… minor exaggeration, but really? “I’m so tired of it.”
What did you make of Aston Villa’s performance against Everton?
Villa’s displeasure grew in the second half, when Vitaliy Mykolenko produced a fantastic point-blank block to deny Matty Cash. Abdoulaye Doucoure scored for Everton in the 88th minute, but his goal was also ruled out for offside.
Everton, meanwhile, has moved one point clear of the relegation zone after snapping a three-game losing streak. The Toffees would be 12th in the table if not for their 10-point deduction, which has pushed them into the Championship.
“We played OK,” Everton defender James Tarkowski said after the game. “Today, I was the centre of all the cuts and bruises, but I enjoyed it.” I’m just thrilled the VAR judgement went our way. This season, not many things have gone our way.
“We’re still building and working towards our goals.” The 10-point punishment is in place. We’ve kept playing, and our aim now is to keep putting points on the board.”
