Aston Villa’s wait for a first goal and victory of the 2025/26 Premier League campaign dragged on after a goalless stalemate with Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
The result leaves Unai Emery’s side stranded in 19th, with Villa now only the fifth club in Premier League history to fire blanks across the opening four matches of a season.
The return of Emiliano Martinez was a major talking point. The Argentine, who had missed the defeat to Crystal Palace amid transfer speculation linking him to Manchester United, proved vital on his comeback.
He denied Jack Grealish with a sharp first-half stop and later produced a stunning reflex save to keep out Michael Keane’s close-range header.
After the final whistle, Martinez lingered on the pitch, kissing the badge and saluting Villa supporters in appreciation.
Grealish, facing his former club, was lively throughout, yet Everton’s cutting edge deserted them. Beto wasted two golden chances that could have sealed the points, leaving the Toffees frustrated despite their dominance.
Debutants Harvey Elliott for Everton and Merlin Röhl for Villa entered in the second half but were unable to tilt the contest in either direction. Villa, digging deep defensively, ultimately clung on for a share of the spoils.
For Everton, victory would have lifted them level with early pace-setters Arsenal and Liverpool. Instead, they remain fifth, while Villa continue searching for inspiration at the wrong end of the table.