Sheffield United prevented Aston Villa from going to the top of the Premier League after holding them to a 1-1 draw at Villa Park of Friday night.
Villa had a staggering 78% possession of the ball in the first half and six shots on target to zero but couldn’t crack the visitors, who executed their defensive game plan perfectly. Leon Bailey even had the ball in the back of the net, but Jacob Ramsey was holding the arm of goalkeeper Wes Foderingham, seeing the goal chalked off.
Emery’s men continued to pile on the pressure but within a blink of an eye, their former academy graduate Cameron Archer redirected the ball beyond Emi Martinez on his return to Villa Park for his third goal this season.
Nine minutes of injury time were awarded and Villa needed just about all of them to walk away with something, as a looping header from Nicolo Zaniolo ensured the points were split.
The draw will be a disappointment for Villa who had a chance of going top of the league before Liverpool takes on leaders Arsenal at Anfield on Saturday.
