Hull City Hold Aston Villa to Extend Unbeaten Premier League Start

Hull City preserved their unbeaten start to the Premier League season with a 0-0 draw against Aston Villa at the MKM Stadium. The Guardian reported that the promoted club moved to seven points from three matches and recorded a third consecutive clean sheet, while Villa remained winless and failed to score for a third straight game.

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The visitors had an early opening when Nicolas Jackson headed Ian Maatsen's cross wide in the second minute. George Hemmings then registered Villa's only shot on target in the 13th minute, but his low effort was comfortably saved by Hull goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis. Hull responded through Mohamed Belloumi, whose work on the right created problems without producing a goal.

Villa had two clearer opportunities soon after halftime. Captain John McGinn lifted his attempt over the crossbar from inside 12 yards in the 50th minute. Three minutes later, Hemmings broke down the left and cut the ball back for Emiliano Buendia, who also sent his effort over. Those misses left Unai Emery's team still searching for its first league goal of the campaign.

Hull came closest to breaking the deadlock in the 65th minute. Belloumi received the ball following a short corner and curled a left-footed shot against the crossbar. Late in the match, substitute Lucas Herrington made an important block from Tyrone Mings on Herrington's 19th birthday, before Mohamed-Ali Cho had a close-range effort stopped by Zion Suzuki. Oli McBurnie was also unable to make clean contact with a Ryan Giles cross.

Hull manager Sergej Jakirovic, who signed a two-year contract extension on Friday, said his side could have won but acknowledged Villa also created chances in the second half. He welcomed the return of seven points and another clean sheet, saying the performance showed Hull could compete at Premier League level.

Emery said the result was insufficient but felt Villa deserved more from the match. He acknowledged that his team had not been clinical and needed to improve while rebuilding. Villa had previously lost 4-0 at Brighton and 1-0 at home to Arsenal, making the stalemate their third match without a goal, while Hull added the draw to wins over Manchester United and Coventry.