At least that’s if you really had any doubt Emi Martinez wouldn’t return to the team following his unrequited summer dalliance with Manchester United and perform as though it had never happened.
The goalkeeper produced two big saves, the second of which bordered on the category of world class, to ensure Villa returned from their first visit to Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium with a point which the club’s management could, just about, spin into a positive.
“A good point,” was how Unai Emery described it while the manager’s right-hand man Damian Vidagany, writing on social media a few hours after the final whistle, compared it to the “first stone of a magnificent construction”.
Vidagany might well be proven right in time but it would be better for all if the building work became a little quicker.
After four matches of the season, Villa are yet to score a goal, the first time that has ever happened in their history.
Such a statistic would be concerning enough but for the fact in all four matches, they’ve never really looked like scoring a goal.