Aston Villa 0-0 Sheffield United match report: Hawk Eye goal-line technology drama in first Premier League game at an empty Villa Park

Villa keeper Orjan Nyland was spared the embarassment of scoring an own-goal when team-mate Keinan Davis barged him into his own net, but Michael Oliver's watch failed to buzz.

• Aston Villa 0-0 Sheff Utd: Match stats
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The referee was forced to apologise to Blades boss Chris Wilder at half-time after it transpired that Hawk Eye had not worked.

It was a rare moment of drama in an otherwise drab game that deservedly ended goalless.

Sheffield United's only other real chance came via an early header that was sent wide by John Egan, while Davis went close a couple of times at the right end for Villa.

Dean Henderson was called into action as he needed to produce a flying save to deny the returning John McGinn as one of six shots on target Villa managed as opposed to just the one from the visiting Blades.

The point takes the Blades just one place up into sixth above Wolves, but they miss out on moving into fifth and remain a point behind Manchester United.

Villa miss the chance to climb out of the relegation zone and remain second from bottom - a point behind Bournemouth, Watford and West Ham and three behind Brighton.

Watch: Over the line?

Watch: Great save from Henderson

Aston Villa 0-0 Sheffield United Opta stats

• Today’s meeting between Aston Villa and Sheffield United was the first English top-flight game to be played in the month of June since Sheffield United beat Stoke 2-1, on the 14th June 1947.
• Aston Villa have lost just one of their eight Premier League games against Sheffield United (W5 D2), a 0-2 defeat in this season’s reverse fixture at Bramall Lane.
• Sheffield United are the first side to stop Aston Villa from scoring at home in the Premier League since West Ham in September 2019 (0-0), ending their run of scoring in 10 consecutive league games at Villa Park.
• Sheffield United have won 44 points from their opening 29 Premier League games this season; the highest points tally in the competition by a newly promoted side at this stage of a season since Birmingham City in 2009-10 (also 44 pts).
• Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish has won more fouls this season (131) than any other player in a single Premier League campaign since Opta started recording such data (1998-99).
• No goalkeeper has kept more Premier League clean sheets this season than Sheffield United’s Dean Henderson (11, also Burnley's Nick Pope).
• Conor Hourihane created seven chances for his Aston Villa teammates in this game, the joint most by a Villa player in a Premier League game this season (Jack Grealish also seven vs Southampton in December 2019).
• Sheffield United’s Jack Robinson made his second ever Premier League start in this game, 9 years & 55 days after making his first start in the competition, for Liverpool against Birmingham in April 2011 - the second longest gap between a player's first two Premier League starts and the longest for an outfield player.

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