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| Aston Villa's English head coach Steven Gerrard (R) celebrates on the pitch with Aston Villa's Argentinian goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez after the English Premier League football match between Aston Villa and Leicester City at Villa Park in Birmingham, central England on December 5, 2021. |
Manager Steven Gerrard praised his Aston Villa charges after a 2-1 comeback win over Leicester City but is still demanding more from them as they look to climb the Premier League table.
A brace from centre-back Ezri Konsa cancelled out Harvey Barnes’ opener as Villa moved up to 10th in the Premier League on Sunday.
It was a third win in four since Gerrard replaced Dean Smith in the Villa Park hot seat last month and the former Rangers boss expects them to continue to improve.
“We have come in on the back of five defeats, the players could have been lacking confidence and belief but the reaction we have had has been terrific,” he said, after victory over his former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers.
“We can be better. The important thing is to try to stay there and improve the position we are in. We want to be bold and keep pushing for every point that’s available.
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| Aston Villa's English head coach Steven Gerrard celebrates on the pitch after the English Premier League football match between Aston Villa and Leicester City at Villa Park in Birmingham, central England on December 5, 2021. - Aston Villa won the match 2-1. |
“The two games we played this week, both our second-half performances have been top and there’s lot to be proud and pleased of."
Villa were second best in the first half and trailed at half time to a well-taken Barnes goal and Gerrard revealed that his efforts to fire up his side at halftime paid dividends.
“We had to get into them a little bit and demand a reaction [at the break], I didn’t think we were at our best. There are still a lot of teething problems to iron out but I’m delighted with the win. It’s a big start for us.”
Defeat left Leicester 11th in the table and they have now conceded 10 set-piece goals, a joint league high with Crystal Palace.
Boss Rodgers said: “We’re frustrated, I thought in the first half we were very good and could have had more goals.
“Our Achilles heel which has killed us is our defending of the set-piece. The situation can sap the confidence out of the team.
“The only threat against us in the first half was when the ball went dead. In the second half we didn’t start so fast, that happens sometimes, but the corner we conceded from was hugely disappointing. It’s an area we spoke about before the game.
“We don’t get tight enough on the marking and he’s able to squeeze it in the far post. These are undoing some really good parts of our game. It’s something we’ve got to fix.”
