Where the hell was VAR, taking the knee and shoddy Sky Sports: 7 things we learned from Sheffield United's draw at Aston Villa

Just before half-time, Villa goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland claimed Ollie Norwood's free-kick before stumbling backwards and carrying it over his own goalline. The HawkEye technology failed to notify referee Michael Oliver that the goal should be awarded, and the game finished goalless.

Our man Danny Hall offers some of the key talking points from the game.

What on earth was going on?

How - in the first game back of what is supposed to be the biggest and best league in football, and with the eyes of the world watching - can something so basic as goalline technology not work? It was supposedly tested before the game, and was tested again at half-time. In between, its failure cost United a goal that could prove seismic - not just in the context of this season, but in their entire history.

Where the hell was VAR?

This correspondent tried to give VAR a chance, in the face of much opposition from supporters, but last night was a farce. We were told in pre-season that VAR has a small set of instances when it can intervene. One of them was 'goals'. Where was it last night? As Chris Wilder said, Nyland was so far over the line he was almost in the Holte End. Why could the VAR not tell Michael Oliver that it was at least worthy of a second look? At Spurs earlier in the season, the game was halted for what seemed like an eternity to decide that John Lundstram's big toe was offside. At Villa Park, the game simply carried on.

Criticism of Michael Oliver is harsh

The referee, in the middle of the game, relied on his technology which told him that the ball had not crossed the line. Play continued immediately, and he didn't have the benefit of endless replays and camera angles that his mate in the VAR had. Oliver should have been helped out by his colleague, and at the very least invited to have another look at the goal on the VAR screen. Instead, he has basically been hung out to dry - by his fellow referee, and by the failure of the technology that is supposed to make their jobs easier.

Premier League or Sunday League?

Notwithstanding the dodgy goal that wasn't given, the spectacle as a whole had the feel of a Sunday morning game than a Premier League one. Not in terms of quality, but more the whole 'product' - walking out of the tunnel in dribs and drabs, hearing every shout from the players and the manager, subs scattered all over the place rather than sat on a bench. Even without the artificial crowd noise, it wasn't as bad as I expected - and either way, it's something we're all going to have to get used to in the coming six weeks or so.

A double injury blow

If someone had asked me before kick-off to pick two players whose absence would *most* hurt United, it would have probably been Jack O'Connell and John Fleck (with a big mention to Dean Henderson, and possibly George Baldock). So to lose O'Connell and Fleck in the days before the game was a cruel blow to Chris Wilder and Co. and although Jack Robinson performed admirably in O'Connell's position, there is simply no ready-made replacement in United's ranks for either player. The good news is that Fleck may be back for Newcastle on Sunday, and the hope is that O'Connell's knee issue is not as bad as first feared - and he can return before the end of this mini-season.

Taking the knee

This has almost completely been overshadowed by the technological failure, but both sides sent out an incredibly powerful message just after kick-off by 'taking the knee'. With the eyes of the world watching a game in which both sides wore 'Black Lives Matter' messaging on their shirts, it sent out a powerful statement of solidarity at a time when it is arguably more needed than ever. The gesture - which did not originate from Game of Thrones, as Dominic Raab believes - is the one NFL star Colin Kaepernick performed in 2016, in a protest against police brutality and has risen to prominence again following the murder of American George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis.

A busy day for Lundstram

Tasked with filling the left midfield position usually occupied by Fleck, Lundstram was certainly a busy man. According to Sky Sports' on-screen graphic, Lundstram was booked twice but not sent off, and almost broke the deadlock by seizing on a sloppy pass a few minutes after Sky told viewers he had been substituted.

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Stay safe and take care. Thank you. Danny.