Hull Hold Aston Villa to Extend Unbeaten Premier League Start

Hull City extended their unbeaten start to the Premier League season with a 0-0 draw against Aston Villa at the MKM Stadium on Saturday. The Guardian reported that the promoted side created the clearest opportunity of the match and finished strongly, while Villa went a third consecutive league game without scoring.

Watch the highlights:

Mohamed Belloumi came closest to breaking the deadlock in the 65th minute. After receiving the ball from a short corner, the Algeria winger curled a left-footed effort against the crossbar. Late chances also fell to Mohamed-Ali Cho and Oli McBurnie, but Villa goalkeeper Zion Suzuki denied Cho at close range and McBurnie could not make clean contact with Ryan Giles's delivery.

Villa had opportunities of their own, beginning inside the opening two minutes when Nicolas Jackson headed Ian Maatsen's cross wide. George Hemmings then produced Villa's first shot on target of the season in the 13th minute, though Konstantinos Tzolakis saved comfortably. Tzolakis later made a sharper fingertip stop from Ross Barkley's low drive.

The visitors continued to threaten after the interval without finding the finish. John McGinn lifted a shot over the bar following a passing move, and Emiliano Buendia fired over after Hemmings had beaten Lewie Coyle and supplied a cut-back. Hull substitute Lucas Herrington, appearing on his 19th birthday, made a late block to stop Tyrone Mings's attempt.

Hull entered the fixture after defeating Manchester United at home on the opening day and winning at Coventry. The draw therefore left Sergej Jakirovic's team unbeaten through three matches, with a clean sheet against Villa adding to their encouraging return to the top flight. Jakirovic had signed a new two-year contract on Friday, according to The Guardian.

For Villa, the point ended a run of two defeats but did not resolve their problems in front of goal. They had also failed to register a shot on target in losses to Brighton and Arsenal before finally testing Tzolakis at Hull. Despite periods of pressure, Unai Emery's side could not convert its chances, and the hosts were the team that came nearest to taking all three points.