Michael Keane headed over the bar early on off a lovely set-piece cross from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, while former Villa star Jack Grealish, who created a game-leading five chances, saw a stinging volley saved by Martinez. James Garner set up Keane for another header, but the defender failed to find the target before Youri Tielemans nearly turned the ball into his own net off an Everton corner.
Al-Ahli started strong in the first half, and kept their hosts under early pressure, with Marek Rodak making saves to deny Galeno, Ivan Toney and Franck Kessie. They came closest to taking the lead in the 35th minute through Merih Demiral as he rose highest to meet Alvaro Medran's corner, but his effort struck the top of the goal frame. Just moments later, Georginio Wijnaldum had a glorious opportunity to score after being played in behind, but he skewed his shot well wide of the far post.
Expected Goals is a statistical term that quantifies scoring chances, measuring the likelihood of a shot resulting in a goal, with values assigned between 0 and 1.