Southampton held at Aston Villa

Southampton have been held to a goalless draw away at Aston Villa in the Premier League this afternoon.

The Saints dominated possession for the majority of the game and created the clearer chances but were unable to break the deadlock.

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Southampton sprinted out of the blocks with two early chances for Rickie Lambert. First, the England striker could only direct Luke Shaw's cross straight at the goalkeeper, before he saw another close-range effort blocked by Ron Vlaar.

Brad Guzan then made a good stop from Steven Davis, after initially failing to deal with a cross before Adam Lallana just failed to get on the end of a clever Shaw pass.

Villa improved after half time with Karim El Ahmadi firing just wide twice in quick succession before the same player almost forced Jose Fonte into an own goal. Between those chances Lallana just failed to produce the final touch after an excellent move on the Southampton left.

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Southampton continued to push forward and had a big penalty appeal turned down with 10 minutes to go after Nathaniel Clyne's cross appeared to be blocked by Ryan Bertrand's hand, but referee Lee Mason was unmoved.

The visitors continued to control possession but were ultimately frustrated by their opponents today.