'Hype train left too soon' - national media all say same thing as Everton frustrated by Aston Villa

National media round-up following Everton's goalless draw with Aston Villa at Hill Dickinson Stadium

Everton extended their unbeaten run to four matches in all competitions but were held to a goalless draw by Aston Villa – now the only team among the 92 yet to find the net this season – despite dominating proceedings at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Here is a round-up of how the nation media reported on the game.

Alan Smith in The Times, reckoned David Moyes’ men have their own lessons to learn in front of goal.

Aston Villa’s wait for a first goal of the season continues, though at least they were spared another defeat by Everton’s own brand of folly in the penalty area. If Beto was a finisher, the centre-forward could have become the first player to score a hat-trick at their shiny new arena. Instead, he somehow failed to place any of four clearcut opportunities on target in a contest that quickly developed into cannot score versus will not score.

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The pre-match focus around Villa may have been planted firmly on the reintegration of goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, who appeared convinced he was heading to Manchester United at the end of transfer window. However Unai Emery’s team also arrived on Merseyside as the only side in England’s top seven divisions yet to score. They only departed with a point because of Beto’s struggles and a couple of fine stops from their World Cup-winning goalkeeper.

Neither Beto’s ability to get into the right positions nor commitment could be faulted; the problem was simply execution. His opening opportunity was a glorious one courtesy of Iliman Ndiaye driving forward and laying the ball on a platter from eight yards.

Beto met it with his right foot and blocked it with his left boot. He was flagged offside when Jack Grealish teed him up at the back post and then delivered a horror first touch when clean through after Tyrone Mings was beaten by a pump forward. To give the 6ft 4in striker some credit he persevered until being substituted with 16 minutes remaining, chasing loose balls and making himself a nuisance as Everton pushed and pushed.

Sam Dalling of the Guardian believes that Everton’s new-look team still have much work to do and suggested they have been overhyped.

Is it a crisis? That seems a bit extreme, but undoubtedly Aston Villa’s season has begun tepidly. Their quest to become the 162nd and final team in England’s top seven divisions to score in 2025/26 fell flat in their goalless draw at Everton.

As for Everton, well, unlike most services connecting London and Birmingham to the north-west, their hype-train has left the station well before time. Yes, they have improved dramatically under David Moyes. Yes, they are no longer dour to watch. But talk of European football is premature. They have made a decent start to this season, but that is all it is. They probably ought to have won here, but did not. That cancels out the three undeserved points they took from Brighton on the opening day at their new waterside residence. This 90-minutes showed exactly where Everton are at. Solid, with a few touches of flair, an old-school “find Iliman Ndiaye and Jack Grealish and see what they can conjure” setup. Inevitably, Grealish – something old of Villa’s, an Everton newbie borrowed from Manchester City, calves bulging in blue – shone. “You’re not super any more,” sang the visiting corner, half-heartedly at best. Generally, wherever he went, two or three in claret followed. He teased defenders all afternoon. What Everton fans would give for a centre-forward of note, though. Beto’s opening 10 minutes were laughable. First, his right-foot shot from Ndiaye’s low cross was blocked by his left boot; next, he needlessly danced offside; finally, to complete the comedy triptych, he took an awful touch when a good one would have made him favourite to score. Few of the 50,000 present were surprised. In the Daily Mail, Tom Collomosse focused on the fortunes of the two starting strikers in this stalemate.

Everton forward Beto is unlikely to have dashed home to watch back his performance here. He missed a simple chance in the third minute and wasted several opportunities thereafter with heavy touches and rushed finishing. Yet Beto never gave the Villa centre-backs, Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa, a moment’s peace. He won all five of his aerial duels and that gave Everton a platform from which their wide players, Iliman Ndiaye and Jack Grealish, were able to play. Beto was far from perfect but you could see why he was there. Where was that sort of display from Watkins? Though the 29 -year-old’s strengths are different from Beto’s, at his best he can cause just as much trouble for defenders. Instead, Watkins touched the ball 16 times during his 83 minutes on the pitch, winning only two of his nine duels. He did not have a single shot and ran at his defender only once, losing possession.

Mike Whalley of the Daily Telegraph reckoned blanks like this could be rarer for Everton this term.

These are troubled times for Aston Villa, so they take their positives where they can, even the qualified ones: they owed their point at Everton to a goalkeeper who was trying to leave them two weeks ago. Emiliano Martinez had hoped to be a Manchester United player now, but those at Old Trafford had other ideas. Unai Emery welcomed his goalkeeper straight back into the team and he made the difference between one point and none.

A side as out of form as Villa must have worried that their former favourite might take them apart. Grealish, on Villa’s books from the age of six to the brink of his 26th birthday, turned 30 during the week, and celebrated by winning the Premier League Player of the Month award for August. For a long spell in the first half, it looked as if his early hot streak with Everton might continue; his footwork and willingness to run at players caused Villa problems, and Matty Cash picked up a first-half yellow card for sending him crashing to the floor.

But Villa gradually closed Grealish out; he finished with a yellow card of his own for dissent after failing to win a free-kick he felt he deserved for Evann Guessand’s challenge. Even during a quieter second half, though, Grealish might have claimed a fifth assist of his short Everton career, providing the cross for the Keane header that prompted Martinez’s heroics.

While Grealish ended the day frustrated, so too did his team-mate Beto. Everton’s Guinea-Bissau international centre-forward fluffed two great chances, reacting with gestures of self-recrimination. But he kept on putting in the effort, even as he floundered, and the home fans made clear their appreciation of that.

Under David Moyes, Everton are a much more positive, attractive team to watch than they were under Sean Dyche 12 months ago – blank days like this may be few and far between this season.

And in the ECHO, Chris Beesley shone the spotlight on Jack Grealish's Aston Villa reunion.

EA Player of the Month – you’ll never sing that.” Not with Aston Villa anyway!

Four years ago, when Jack Grealish became the first Englishman to command a £100million transfer fee on joining Manchester City, David Moyes, then with West Ham United, declared him to be the best player in the Premier League. But for all his dazzling displays, both at Villa Park and then the Etihad, playing a starring role in Pep Guardiola’s side’s treble season of 2023, Grealish went into this fixture having been named Premier League Player of the Month for the first time and it took him until the week of his 30th birthday to receive the honour. In the end it was team-mate Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall who handed over the trophy to him, which was fitting given the way the two summer signings have dovetailed on the pitch in their attacking midfield roles and the former Chelsea man pledged to keep helping Grealish on his way. This is of course just the start for Grealish who is looking for a major revival of his career at Hill Dickinson Stadium and despite his bright start – picking up this gong on the back of four assists from his first two Premier League games – he’ll be aiming for greater prizes, namely a place in England’s squad at the World Cup finals next summer. Not that he seems to be receiving much encouragement from his former adoring public at Villa with significant sections of the away end booing him here and chanting: “You’re not super anymore.” What was somewhat poignant after the final whistle though – once most fans had cleared out – was the sight of Grealish walking over to that corner of the ground, alongside another Villa old boy in the home line-up, Idrissa Gueye and the pair of them clapping and being applauded back by those who were still in their seats.

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