Unai Emery threw his arms out in disgust and turned in fury to his backroom team as the credits rolled on another no-show from Aston Villa as an attacking force.
It was a day Villa wrote a new page in their history books - an entry of the unwanted kind - as this is the first time they have failed to score in the opening four league games of any season.
And, as the old saying goes, they were lucky to get nil from a scrappy goalless draw at Everton in which they were strictly second best.
David Moyes' team made all the running at this magnificent Hill Dickinson Stadium, leaving Emery grateful not just for the excellence of his returning, rehabilitated goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, but also that Beto was the blunt instrument at the point of Everton's attack.
The striker miskicked haplessly in front of an open goal when played in by Iliman Ndiaye in the opening minutes, then failed to make proper contact with another inviting cross at point-blank range in the second half.
It meant Villa escaped with a point, Martinez saving superbly from Michael Keane's second-half header, but very little else in this display would have pleased Emery, despite his positive post-match messaging.
The only moment to excite Villa's fans came in the second half when Emiliano Buendia's shot was deflected just wide - and that was it.
It has been a disturbing start to the season for Villa, who only missed out on Champions League football on the final day of last season, losing controversially to Manchester United, and who harboured similar ambitions at the start of this campaign.
So far they have failed to score a goal while collecting only two points, from goalless draws against Newcastle United at home and here at Everton. Villa have lost at Brentford and at home to Crystal Palace.
Villa are only the fifth side in Premier League history not to score in their opening four league games, after Sheffield Wednesday (1993-94), Newcastle United (2005-06), Swansea City (2011-12) and Crystal Palace (2017-18).
And this was the first time Villa have failed to score in five consecutive Premier League games since a run of six between December 2014 and February 2015.