Soccer

Nicolò Zaniolo rescues late draw for Aston Villa against Sheffield United

Emery will ask himself how his high-flying team failed to beat the team that began the day bottom

Aston Villa's Nicolo Zaniolo scores. Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA Wire
Aston Villa's Nicolo Zaniolo scores. Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA Wire
Ben Fisher at Villa Park
Fri Dec 22 2023 - 22:23

Seven minutes into nine minutes of second-half stoppage time Nicoló Zaniolo rescued a point for Aston Villa against lowly Sheffield United but Unai Emery’s annoyance at their failure to take victory is unlikely to subside anytime soon.

The question Emery will surely ask himself is would bona fide title contenders fail to beat the team that began the day bottom of the pile? Of course the flipside is to consider the determination Villa showed to keep pushing when it seemed it was going to be one of those days, a missed opportunity. But Zaniolo headed in late on to grab a point when it seemed all was lost. Cameron Archer’s 87th-minute strike looked to have snatched victory for the Blades but the former Villa’s youngster’s goal proved inadequate to earn their first away win of the season.

Villa sold Archer to United in the summer and he coolly converted Gustavo Hamer’s cross from the edge of the six-yard box to prevent Emery’s side from going top of the table. Chris Wilder swigged on a bottle of Lucozade as Emery, back in his seat in the home dugout, seethed. Leon Bailey saw a second-half strike disallowed for a foul in the build-up but, in truth, Villa failed to exhibit the A-game their manager warned they would need.

Villa, who this time five years ago were mid-table in the Championship, are riding high among the elite and at least they seem to be enjoying it, rather than burdened by newfound expectations. Trips to Villa Park have not been this exciting since the turn of the millennium and so perhaps it is little surprise the club appear intent on seizing the moment. The ground put on a prematch light show – fuelled by supporters scanning QR codes after downloading the club app – and then came the pyrotechnics and a striking firework display.

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At the same time, Emery has tried his best to harness the heightened hopes and pressures that come with being in their position. It seemed pointed that the first line of his programme notes were him reiterating the importance of not getting carried away.

“For us, as professionals, it’s not time to think in records, streaks, top of the table or future great goals at the end of the season,” he said.

Of course, on the face of it, this game was the equivalent of an Ollie Watkins tap-in, as the team with the best home record in the division this season entertained the team with the worst away record. The only player to score on the road for Sheffield United this season, Gustavo Hamer, was among the substitutes. Their top scorer this campaign? Mr Own Goals. No team in Europe’s top five leagues has conceded more goals than the Blades and so, in many ways, for Villa this had all the hallmarks of a potential slip-up.

The visitors set up to frustrate and, from Chris Wilder’s perspective, the first half went more or less to plan. Villa may have made more than three times as many passes as their opponents in a one-sided first half but United limited them to one shot on target in that time, with Moussa Diaby’s first-time effort on 17 minutes repelled by Wes Foderingham in the Blades goal.

Auston Trusty, who operated in the heart of a five-man Blades defence, did just enough to prevent Ezri Konsa from getting a clear header on goal at a corner and while Diaby repeatedly skinned Yasser Larouci, the all-important end product eluded Villa. Emery’s frustrations sometimes led him to moonlight as a ball boy, running for the ball whenever it dropped in the vicinity of his technical area. Wilder, meanwhile, could be seen gesturing to his players to calm things down in an attempt to retain possession. It would be overselling it to argue United had any genuine desire to attack Emiliano Martínez’s goal.

United stifled Villa. No sooner was Larouci booked than Wilder replaced the wing-back with Max Lowe. Moments later came Villa’s controversially disallowed goal. Bailey swept the ball in at the back post from Watkins’ low cross but VAR deemed Jacob Ramsey to have fouled Foderingham at the corner seconds before. Wilder immediately made a beeline for the fourth official, Darren Bond. Foderingham made a weak punch at the ball with his left hand as Ramsey, tussling with Jayden Bogle, tugged on his right forearm. Anis Ben Slimane cleared the ball but then Watkins intercepted George Baldock as the United defender attempted to dribble out from defence. Watkins played a give-and-go with Ramsey and then fed Bailey. Emery sat, legs crossed, in the dugout as the referee, Anthony Taylor, reviewed the incident on the pitchside monitor, before penalising Ramsey. Emery threw his arms into the air in disbelief.

Every now and then the Blades edged towards the opposition half but Cameron Archer, who signed from Villa, his boyhood club, in the summer, was starved of service. A United shot, let alone one on target, always felt unlikely. No team has avoided relegation from the Premier League with fewer than 10 points at this stage of the season but at least here Wilder’s side displayed an appetite to get their hands dirty, even if it proved a tough watch.

When the visitors finally mustered an effort on goal on 78 minutes, the away supporters launched into song. “We’ve had a shot,” came the chant as Oliver Norwood sent a first-time shot at Martínez from the edge of the box. The Villa goalkeeper looked at his defence with a face like thunder. Two minutes later Konsa almost diverted Bogle’s zipped cross past his own goalkeeper but it dropped wide of a post.

Villa’s 15-game winning home run may have ended, but their unbeaten run here continues. – Guardian