Hull City extended their remarkable start to Premier League life by frustrating Aston Villa to a scoreless draw, a result that leaves Sergej Jakirovic's promoted side still unbeaten after three matches while Unai Emery's rebuilt Villa remain without a win.
The Tigers, who stunned Manchester United on the opening weekend and followed that up with victory at Coventry, could easily have made it three wins from three. Instead, they had to settle for a third consecutive clean sheet after Algeria international Mohamed Belloumi struck the crossbar with a superb left-footed effort in the second half, the closest either side came to breaking the deadlock.
Hull's result matches the kind of form not seen since Bolton Wanderers won their opening three fixtures of the 2001-02 season, though the Tigers were unable to complete the set of victories on this occasion. Jakirovic, who put pen to paper on a two-year contract extension just before the match, was satisfied with the outcome despite the missed chance to win.
"We could have won, but they also had a few chances in the second half," Jakirovic said. "We won't be ungrateful for seven points after three games and another clean sheet. It's a great result for us and we showed we can compete at this level."
Villa, meanwhile, continued to struggle in front of goal, failing to find the net for a third straight match. The visitors had been thrashed 4-0 at Brighton and beaten 1-0 at home by Arsenal without registering a shot on target in either game. Against Hull, they finally managed an effort on goal through George Hemmings inside the opening quarter of an hour, though Konstantinos Tzolakis dealt with it comfortably.
Emery's side arrived at the MKM Stadium having undergone significant summer changes, with numerous departures and ten new arrivals reshaping the squad. The Spanish manager pointed to positives despite the lack of a breakthrough.
"The result is not enough, but I think we deserved more," Emery said. "We weren't clinical but of course to win matches, you need goals. We created chances today to score and we must improve but we are rebuilding."
Villa nearly opened the scoring inside two minutes when Nicolas Jackson headed over from Ian Maatsen's cross, and captain John McGinn later lifted a good opportunity over the bar from close range in the 50th minute. Three minutes after that, Emiliano BuendÃa blazed over from a promising position after being teed up by Hemmings, who had beaten Hull captain Lewie Coyle down the left flank.
Hull, backed by a sold-out crowd and a banner reading "One family, one dream" unveiled before kick-off, showed plenty of attacking intent themselves. Belloumi twice got the better of Ross Barkley in the first half, including with a nutmeg, before his stoppage-time strike off a short corner routine with Regan Slater rattled the woodwork in the second period.
Substitutes were introduced by both managers as the game wore on. Mohamed-Ali Cho forced a save from Zion Suzuki late on, while Oli McBurnie narrowly failed to connect properly with a Ryan Giles cross as Hull pushed for a winner. At the other end, teenage substitute Lucas Herrington, playing on his 19th birthday, produced a crucial block to deny Tyrone Mings.
The point leaves Hull sitting second in the early Premier League table, a remarkable position for a side widely tipped for an immediate return to the Championship. Villa, by contrast, still search for their first win of the campaign before turning attention to their Champions League opener away to Club Brugge in midweek.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football, Independent Football, and BBC Sport.