Aston Villa players clash and West Ham have a man sent off in a game of ifs and one extraordinary butt

There were plenty of ifs and one extraordinary butt as Aston Villa and West Ham played out a goalless draw. The ifs came from the number of chances not taken – if only one had been converted Villa would be out of the bottom three by more than goal difference or West Ham would be in the top three. And despite a sending off the biggest talking point centred on the butt.

It came when two Villa players, Tyrone Mings and Anwar El Ghazi, clashed angrily in the first half with the latter clearly pushing his head into his team-mate's. He could have been dismissed but instead it was West Ham’s Arthur Masuaku who saw red for a second yellow card as his team played out the final quarter with 10 men. The worry for Villa was that they could not take advantage with West Ham the more threatening.

There was a buoyancy; a bounce; a zip to both teams in this match. Villa believed, having won at home in their last fixture - against Everton, also under the lights - and were burning with a grievance after their late equaliser against Crystal Palace, in the game before the international break, was wrongly ruled out.

And West Ham believed also. Back-to-back league wins do that and so they arrived with intent and delivered the first warning after a smart move ended with Andriy Yarmolenko’s goal-bound shot being deflected by Bjorn Engels for a corner.

Soon after, Mark Noble’s half-volley was easily held by goalkeeper Tom Heaton but it was Villa who went closest in the early minutes as Jack Grealish exchanged passes with Jota and crossed only for Wesley’s close-range header to skim the angle of post and crossbar.

West Ham countered with a header of their own after a slick attack involving Yarmolenko, Manuel Lanzini and Felipe Anderson before Sebastien Haller could only direct the ball past the post. Twice new Villa signing Marvelous Nakamba, on his league debut, did not live up to his first name as he passed the ball straight to West Ham players and from the second mistake a shot by Declan Rice was deflected over.

Unsurprisingly, Villa’s best hope were the quick feet of Grealish and when he created the space to deliver another cross, right-back Frederic Guilbert could only head weakly, holding his face knowing he should have done better. John McGinn can score from distance but his powerful drive was too central and was patted down by Lukasz Fabianski.

There was a flash-point in the Villa penalty area with Tyrone Mings reacting angrily as team-mate Anwar El Ghazi failed to cut out a cross and the pair ended up butting heads together as they argued. “You’re on the same team,” referee Mike Dean told them before a VAR check was called. In theory he could have sanctioned the players.

Did it unsettle Villa? It appeared so as West Ham began to dominate, pinning the home side back before they broke out and El Ghazi was involved again. The midfielder attempted to meet a Jota cross but was just beaten to it by Fabianski, clattering into the goalkeeper who then saved well from Wesley’s header and did even better to deny McGinn, throwing himself to his right to palm away. Even so, both efforts were pulled up for offside.

There was some debate as to whether Noble should have received a second yellow card, and therefore be dismissed, as he went over in the Villa area but the West Ham captain was neither fouled nor dived and so play carried on. McGinn, though, somehow escaped sanction after lunging at Haller – presumably because the Villa midfielder hurt himself.

McGinn did far better soon after as he latched onto a clearance by Yarmolenko, after Fabianski had beaten out Grealish’s cross, to swivel and shoot narrowly wide.

The intent continued with West Ham constructing another good move which led to Grealish throwing himself to block Rice’s fierce shot before, at the other end, El Ghazi chested the ball down and forced an alert save by Fabianski with the pace quickening once more.

Would there be a breakthrough? Villa’s cause was aided when Masuaku received a second yellow card for impeding substitute Ahmed El Mohamady and this time Dean did show the red to reduce West Ham to 10 men. It appeared a harsh decision but Noble’s protests were waved away and Masuaku trudged off.

West Ham doubled down, bringing on defender Pablo Zabaleta, but went close when another substitute, Pablo Fornals, cut the ball back and Haller adjusted to create space only for Mings to fling himself and block the shot.

The tension rose. It seemed Grealish would decide it when, clear on goal, he reached a deep cross but made a complete hash of his shot. There were penalty claims from both sides in injury time but, remarkably, it ended in a goalless draw after all.