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Everton's European hopes dented after dull goalless draw with Aston Villa

Tim Nash
·14-min read
Everton's European hopes dented after dull goalless draw with Aston Villa - PAUL MARRIOTT
Everton's European hopes dented after dull goalless draw with Aston Villa - PAUL MARRIOTT

  • Emiliano Martinez started for Aston Villa in goal as Jack Grealish returned from injury

  • Everton's hopes of playing in Europe next season suffered a setback

European qualification is not built on tame, end-of-season games like this, leaving Carlo Ancelotti admitting Everton must win all three remaining games to do so.

Everton's slim chances of claiming a Champions League place suffered a blow with this lacklustre draw against Aston Villa, for whom Jack Grealish finally returned from injury.

Ancelotti's side closed the gap to eight points off fourth spot, but there wasn't enough urgency about them to further close the distance on Chelsea and exact revenge on Villa, who beat them 2-1 at Goodison Park 12 days ago.

With a return for supporters to stadiums edging ever closer, here was a game crying out for a crowd to inject some urgency. Ancelotti admits Everton must pull out all the stops to achieve their aim.

"We have three games and maybe we have to have three victories to be in Europe and we will try to do it," he said. "We played two away games, we got four points and it was better to have six points but four points is good to stay in the fight.

"We could have been more efficient to finalise the shot or final pass, but the strikers worked really hard defensively. Maybe they weren't so fresh for the final decision. But it's a point, we moved up the table and now we have a great opportunity at home."

The one fillip for Everton was equalling their Premier League record of nine away clean sheets in a season, set in 2008-09.

Villa created the biggest opportunity of the game when captain Tyrone Mings sent a stooping header wide from Douglas Luiz's cross in the 18th minute.

Other than that, it was a largely tame, end-of-season affair, despite the potential stakes for Everton, who were the stronger side in the second half.

The only goalmouth action in the first half of the second period was when Mason Holgate headed a free-kick straight at Emiliano Martinez.

Everton substitute André Gomes looked to make a name for himself, but after turning Douglas Luiz, he could only curl his shot way over the bar. Grealish finally appeared to lift the gloom in the 72nd minute after missing the last 12 games with a hip injury.

The England forward's influence is undeniable — Villa have a 50 per cent Premier League win rate when he has played this season with 11 victories in 22, compared to 25 per cent without him (three in 12).

But he failed to grab the game by the scruff of the neck. Instead Gomes got forward again and could only blaze hopefully over the bar when unmarked 15 yards out.

Grealish set up Anwar El Ghazi but the Dutch winger's finish was woeful; ballooning high and wide. Villa manager Dean Smith was relieved to see the return of the talismanic Grealish.

"I'll sit down with him and see how he feels but he brought a spark onto the pitch straight away," said Smith. "It wasn't quite happening in the final third; he had one mesmerising run when he had five or six Everton players chasing him.

"We're really happy to have him back. It's small steps at the moment but it's great to have him out there.

"It was a strange injury but he's come back now, he looks fresh and we need to go softly, softly with him."

Smith admitted he was happy with a point. "They were chasing the game at the end as they are trying to get into the European positions. We had to defend resolutely," he added.

"It was a game of few chances. We had good control of the ball in the first half. The game was lacking that bit of spark in the final third."

07:06 PM

No way past

06:57 PM

FULL TIME - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Late free kick for Villa comes to nothing. All over at Villa Park. A draw not good for either team. Everton do move abover Arsenal and into 8th.

06:55 PM

90+3mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Lengthy treatment for Mings and the magic spray comes out. Both players are struggling.

06:52 PM

90+1mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Mings and Martinez collide in the box after the former makes a crucial interception. Both need treatment.

06:51 PM

90mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Three minutes of stoppage time.

06:50 PM

89mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

A Var check takes place after Mings catches Calvert Lewin high. No punishment.

McGinn is booked.

06:48 PM

87mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Martinez comes up big again for Villa. Calvert-Lewin beats Targett in the air and heads towards goal. It is saved and from the rebound oucoure shoots at goal and his wayward effort is sent towards goal by Richarlison but he heads over.

06:43 PM

84mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Great pace by Godfrey who stay with Grealish, who was driving towards the box.

06:41 PM

82mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Grealish is unhappy with the referee after being caught late. Atkinson has no time for his complaints and play continues.

06:37 PM

77mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Richarlison gets away from Mings and pulls the ball back to Gomes but Elhomady sticks out a boot to deflect the ball away.

06:33 PM

74mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

He hasn't been on long but Grealish is already making things happen.

Second Everton sub, Iwobi on for Coleman.

06:31 PM

72mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Third change for Villa and it is Grealish time. He comes on for Traore. Just less than 20minutes to make an impression.

06:28 PM

69mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Massive chance for Gomes, just off the bench. He fools Mings with a drag back and gets the ball onto his left foot but blazes over the bar. Should have done much better.

06:26 PM

67mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Sub for Everton as Andre Gomes comes on for Sigurdsson.

06:25 PM

65mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Second Villa sub sees Ramsey come on for the disappointing Barkley. Villa have one more home game but it is against Chelsea and Barkley is ineligible to play.

06:22 PM

63mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Here we go. Smith has a word with Grealish and send him out to warm-up.

06:20 PM

61mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

El Ghazi tests Pickford with a free kick from distance. From the resulting corner, Barkley pulls the ball back to Traore, who shoots wildly over.

06:17 PM

57mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

TV cameras capture Grealish sitting on the bench. No sign of him warming up yet.

06:14 PM

54mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Siguardsson is booked for pulling back Luiz.

06:11 PM

51mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Brilliant save by Martinez. Sigurdsson clips a free kick into the box and Godfrey meets it with a flick towards goal but the Villa keeper is there to palm it away for a corner.

06:06 PM

47mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Clearest sight of goal so far as Calvert Lewin breaks away and shoots straight at Martinez. But the flag goes up for offside.

06:04 PM

Second half - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Villa get the second half underway. It can't be worse than the first...

05:48 PM

HALF TIME - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Calvert-Lewin jogs back on and the whistle blows for the break. Nothing between the two sides.

05:48 PM

45mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

It is the walking wounded right now. Calvert Lewin and Cash are both down now and in need of treatment.

Cash can't continue and is replaced by Elmohamady.

05:46 PM

45mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Digne is struggling after a heavy tackle from Cash. He's able to continue after treatment.

One minute of stoppage time.

05:45 PM

43mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Traore is booked for simulation after going down on the edge of the box. The right decision. He was looking for something that wasn't there.

05:44 PM

41mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Something off the training ground by Villa as Barkley pings a ball to the edge of the box where Luiz is waiting. But Godfrey comes out quick and denies him

05:38 PM

36mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Barkley breaks into the box but can't sort his feet out and has to go backwards. Everton hustle Villa away from their box and regain possession. Good defending.

05:36 PM

34mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Nice feet on the edge of the box by Richarlison but the Brazilian shoots wide.

05:34 PM

32mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Hopefully Grealish is able to come on as this game needs a big injection of quality.

05:31 PM

29mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Richarlison is fouled by Cash around 30 yards out. Sigurdsson and Digne are over the ball. The former takes it but the strike is straight at Martinez.

05:25 PM

24mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Comedy moment there as Davis and Cash get in each other's way and it ends up with the latter on the floor.

That's probably the clearest sign of the quality of this match.

05:21 PM

20mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

An opening for El Ghazi as he picks up the loose ball and drives forward but he shoots over. Should have done better.

05:18 PM

17mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Mings has to score there. Luiz picks him out with a cross but the England defender heads wide. Huge miss.

05:16 PM

15mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Chance for Everton. Coleman makes amends with a clipped cross into the box, which finds Calvert-Lewin but he can't get power on the header.

Cash is able to continue and returns to the pitch.

05:14 PM

13mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Cash is down and in need of treatment after picking up a knock.

05:13 PM

11mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

We have our first shot and it is courtesy of Traore. El Ghazi finds him with a pass but Traore's shot is tame and doesn't work Pickford.

05:11 PM

10mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Everton work the ball nicely as Godfrey runs out of defence. The ball is played wide to Coleman but the Irishman's cross is poor and into the hands of Martinez.

05:09 PM

6mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Still no shot at goal with the game so far a midfield battle. Hopefully this game does get better...

05:05 PM

3mins - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0

Cagey start between the two sides. Davis is getting some nice early touches for Villa.

05:01 PM

Kick off - Aston Villa vs Everton

Everton get the match underway!

04:58 PM

Pre-game stats

  • Everton have won three of their last five away league games against Aston Villa (L2), as many as they had in their previous 29 visits to Villa Park (D12 L14). They did lose this exact fixture 2-0 last season, however.
  • Aston Villa beat Everton 2-1 on May 1st – victory here will be the second shortest gap between one side beating another in Premier League history (12 days), after Arsenal beat Bolton twice in the space of three days in January 2010.
  • Aston Villa have won more Premier League games (20) and scored more Premier League goals (73) against Everton than they have vs any other side in the competition.
  • Everton have won six of their last 11 Premier League meetings with Aston Villa (D2 L3), as many as they had in their previous 39 against them in the competition (D16 L17).

04:54 PM

Dean Smith speaks

"We normally finish the season well, we've got a very fit team. We drew two and won two of our last four last season could have won all four of them. We want to finish this season well too – it started with so much promise for us, we've been a bit inconsistent in the second half but that's understandable. Jack Grealish has been a big miss for us, he's a top player and it's a big lift to get him big"

04:46 PM

Boost for Everton

04:37 PM

UEFA Conference League

Everton have aspirations of qualifying for the Europa League but may have to settle for the brand new Conference League.

Wondering what that league is all about? No problem. A handy explainer on the tournament is right here

04:21 PM

Team news

The big news is the return of Jack Grealish to the Villa squad, albeit on the bench. With Ollie Watkins suspended, Keinan Davis makes his first start of the season.

Mason Holgate and Abdoulaye Doucoure come in for Michael Keane and Tom Davies in the Everton team.

04:06 PM

Everton XI

04:05 PM

Aston Villa XI

04:00 PM

Good afternoon!

Hello and welcome to coverage from Villa Park as Aston Villa and Everton face each other for the second time this month.

On May 1, Villa came away with a 2-1 win which Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti called "one of the worst performances" of the season by his players.

And he expects a better display tonight as they aim to qualify for Europe.

"The team improved, we have more knowledge and confidence, we had good results, fantastic results away. So our season has to be considered a good season," he said.

"We are still in the fight for Europe and we want to put all our energy for our target.

"Top four is not a possibility for us, we have to be honest. We can fight for the other positions.

"I don't know which position we can reach, but we have to get (as many) more points as possible. Tomorrow is vital, as it was vital against West Ham. We know this and I hope the team will be able to repeat the same performance."

Meanwhile, Villa boss Dean Smith is hoping to call upon Jack Grealish after the attacker has missed the last 12 games.

He said: "The latest is he trained with the group yesterday and he trained with the group on Saturday. When he comes in today, I'll speak to him and see how he feels.

"We'll sit down with the doctor as well and take it from there. I can't give a positive yes or no. He looked comfortable and he's a naturally-fit player anyway.

"Is he ready to start games? No, but if he feels pain-free then he's ready to be a part of the squad.

"His only concern is getting the injury right (rather than making England's Euro 2020 squad). He has been loading now for the last two weeks and he is getting to a stage where he can get minutes on the pitch which is the most important thing."