Aston Villa verdict: Positives but Hull stalemate was an opportunity missed

The trouble is they really should have taken a bigger stride.

A first clean sheet of the season secured a first Premier League point for Unai Emery’s team but no goals means they are still waiting for a first win.

Villa are now only the second team in history to fail to score in their first three matches of a top-flight campaign in consecutive seasons.

There is a definite sense of having been here before.

Saturday’s stalemate at the MKM Stadium carried some familiar hallmarks to last September’s draw at Sunderland, as Villa missed an opportunity to get their season up and running against newly-promoted opponents. There was even an almost identical post-match kerfuffle as Emery was kept waiting an age to complete his media duties, due to a chatty home boss holding court in the press conference room.

The difference was while Villa were poor at Sunderland - prompting the manager to infamously brand his players “lazy” - at Hull there was actually plenty of encouragement to be found in their overall performance.

A year ago Emery’s team were struggling to even create chances. Here they carved out two golden ones in the space of just a few second half minutes, both of which were missed by John McGinn and Emi Buendia.

Ross Barkley had earlier been denied by a superb Konstantinos Tzolakis save while, on another day, the visitors might have been awarded two penalties for what were fairly reckless shoves by Tigers defender Nobel Mendy, first on Nicolas Jackson and then on Matty Cash. Considering how last season turned out after a painfully slow start, there is a good reason no-one is panicking.

But then there is the larger context to consider. Last year’s team of Ezri Konsa, Ollie Watkins, Emi Martinez and Morgan Rogers had a pedigree which convinced you eventually, everything would be alright.

This season’s team is very much a work in progress and remains at the very early stages of a large-scale revamp.

What is notable, for all the off-field upheaval, is how much Villa currently resemble a depleted version of last year’s model.

For the second match running, just two of the club’s 10 summer signings were in the starting XI. Only three more came off the bench while the two most recent additions, Ibrahim Mbaye and Taylor Harwood-Bellis, watched on from the sidelines, the former as an unused substitute and the latter from the stands having not been included in the matchday squad.

With Johan Manzambi, Leon Gortezka and the suspended Joao Gomes absent completely, it was a reminder of just how different this Villa team will likely look a month or two from now.

Theoretically, they should only improve but the uncertainty means it is a nervous optimism which pervades.

Of the new boys, goalkeeper Zion Suzuki already appears the most settled and at least has something to celebrate, after recording his first shutout.

Other than a couple of minor handling errors, his was a confident performance, albeit he will face far busier days than this.

Barring a late flurry, when they threatened to snatch all three points, Hull were largely restricted to efforts from distance though one of those, from Mohamed Belloumi, crashed against the bar with the Villa keeper helpless.

At the other end of the pitch, Jackson again showed some touches and could have opened the scoring inside the first two minutes, when he sent a looping header from Ian Maatsen’s cross wide.

For all his endeavour, the striker lacks game-time and sharpness and this was another reminder, had Villa’s summer played out as planned, he would currently have the luxury of being eased into the team with Watkins still leading the line.

The latter’s departure together with that of Rogers took with it Villa’s two largest sources of goals and they will need the likes of McGinn and Buendia to do much better moving forward, when presented with chances of Saturday’s quality.

McGinn seemed caught in two minds with just Tzolakis to beat after the visitors had carved through the home side’s backline and sent his finish looping over the bar. Soon after, Buendia did the same after excellent work by the rapidly improving George Hemmings to bring down a long Suzuki pass and beat a defender.

Buendia was replaced late on and the sight of him sat in the dugout, beating the ground at the final whistle felt the main image of the day.

For all the positive words, Villa know it is wins which will truly fuel belief the rebuild is heading in the right direction.

Hull might remain unbeaten and their defence, as yet, unbreached but for Emery’s men this really should have been a first victory on the board.

Next up is a return to the Champions League and Club Brugge on Tuesday night. It was European competition which sparked last season to life and Villa will hope for the same again, before next weekend’s visit of Nottingham Forest for a domestic fixture which, even at this early stage of proceedings, feels significant.