Ordinarily it would be viewed as quite the positive for Aston Villa to have picked up a point away from Villa Park. Following, however, the 0-0 draw against Everton, many expressed their continued frustration in this year's side.
To Villa's credit, they managed to limit the chances of Everton, and Jack Grealish could not get himself going the way he had in previous Premier League matches. Defensively the team was mostly fine. Additionally, after a difficult transfer period, it was good to see Emiliano Martínez in goal again.
The issue, however, was in the attack. Emiliano Buendía had a couple of chances, but in reality, while the scoreless draw was largely deserved, it was the hosts who looked the more likely of the two to put one in the back of the net at Hill-Dickinson Stadium.
Unai Emery tried to change things up by bringing on an attacking-minded player for Youri Tielemans in Evann Guessand. The youngster has shown some early promise. On Saturday, though, he too cannot quite cement himself in the match.
Later on, Donyell Malen and Harvey Elliott were called off the bench, hoping to prove to be that pivotal difference. That, too, did not amount to much of anything.
In general, things look disconnected between the buildup and attacking players who are making runs. There will almost assuredly be patterns and concepts that Emery goes through throughout the training week. And the Villa boss is known to emphasize the importance of film during training sessions.
Puzzling developments at Aston Villa
Yet despite what should be viewed as a good roster, and even though Villa are in the hands of a highly capable manager, this past EPL match once again left many scratching their heads, hoping to at least see a goal in sight.
For now, Villa remain the only club to not have put one in the back of the net themselves.