‘It was great to see everyone’ – Gerrard hails Aston Villa fans after 1-0 win v Leeds in Australia
Steven Gerrard has hailed the Aston Villa fans who made their way to Australia to watch Sunday’s win against Leeds United in Brisbane.
Danny Ings scored the only goal of the game in the 64th minute when he converted a penalty kick but Villa had opportunities to go ahead earlier when Philippe Coutinho saw a penalty, and a rebound, saved by Illan Meslier.
It was a feisty affair but Villa clung on to come out on top in their opening game of the Queensland Champions Cup at Suncorp Stadium on 17 July.
There’s a big presence of Villa fans in Brisbane and Gerrard made sure to give them credit after the 1-0 victory.
“The turnout was really healthy and they got behind the team. It was great to see everyone,” said Gerrard, as quoted by BirminghamLive.
“For them, it’s fantastic to see all the players up close and personal. It’s been a really positive day. We’ll pick the areas out that they need to improve and move onto the next game.”
Important win
While these pre-season games are more about building match fitness, Gerrard will no doubt be delighted with the way his side dug in and won the game.
Leeds had plenty of chances but goalkeeper Robin Olsen performed well.
Villa could have scored more too if it wasn’t for the impressive performance of French goalkeeper Meslier at the other end of the pitch.
While Leeds did look as though they were the brighter of the two sides in spells, it says a lot that the Villans were able to get the only goal of the game and earn what is bound to be a morale-boosting victory.
Almost all of Gerrard’s squad got a run-out too, which is vitally important ahead of the Premier League season kicking off in the coming weeks.
It won’t be long before Villa play Bournemouth on the south coast on 6 August.
Gerrard’s men have just a handful of matches left to play before then so getting everyone playing – and getting everyone playing well – is bound to provide the boost they need to win that opening-day fixture at the Vitality Stadium.
In other Aston Villa news, PSG and Barcelona are keen on signing Carney Chukwuemeka.