Instant reaction to Aston Villa 0-0 Sunderland: What a bore

Coming into today's match, Sunderland had allowed 24 goals in 12 matches. Aston Villa had scored 13 goals in 12 matches. It was always going to be a battle of which ineptitude won. After 90 minutes of some of the most dreadful football anyone who watched has ever seen, Villa came out on top, managing to not score against one of the worst defenses in the Premier League.

The 0-0 draw does represent Aston Villa's fifth clean sheet on the year, already matching last season's total. But unlike previous efforts, this one came largely from luck. In the first half, Sunderland's Emanuele Giaccherini had an absolute sitter that he managed to hit over the bar from less than a yard out. Then, in the second half, Fabio Borini placed a shot off the crossbar that otherwise had beaten Brad Guzan.

Villa, on the other hand, had almost no notable efforts. Aleksandar Tonev managed a skidding shot across the ground from around 25 yards out that was Villa's best effort in the second half. It was easily corralled by Sunderland's Vito Mannone.

In random news from the match: Marc Albrighton came on in the second half and actually looked pretty decent. With five minutes left to play, Christian Benteke--who looked lost today--got taken off for Libor Kozak.

Even if Villa had managed a last-minute winner, it wouldn't have obscured the fact that Sunderland, the worst team in the league, were the equals (or betters) to the home side for the entire match. It was a terrible showing and everyone who watched should be given a refund of their time.