Steven Gerrard says Aston Villa need to learn lessons defensively following Wednesday night’s thrilling draw against Leeds United at Villa Park.
During a high-tempo first half, the home side’s attacking play had supporters on their feet as they cut Leeds open to turn a one goal deficit into a 3-1 lead in the space of 13 minutes.
But the visitors struck on the stroke of half-time and again in the second period as Marcelo Bielsa’s team came back to claim a point.
Gerrard said: “It was a fantastic game for the neutral and it was certainly a game for the supporters.
“I’m not sure either coach was in control of that one – it was chaos at times. There was a lot of good play and there’s a lot to be proud and pleased about.
“Some of our forward play was magic – Philippe, JJ and with some of our movement we could have scored more goals. Really pleased on that side, but from a defensive point of view there was a lot to pick out, grow from and learn from, which we will.
“You’ve got to give credit to Leeds as well, they’ve played their part. We gave a lot to the game, so I’ll have to do a lot thinking about the team I go for at the weekend because our numbers today are through the roof.”
Philippe Coutinho was Villa’s main man on the night, scoring one and creating two for the increasingly influential Jacob Ramsey.
Gerrard left the stadium with plenty of positives to reflect on, but also highlighting some areas for improvement.
“I’m sure at half-time both sets of players were feeling it. It was a great advert for Premier League football, it’s the reason we love the league,” he said.
“As a coach, I’m not sure you want to be involved in too many of them. My job is to help entertain the fans and get them excited, but at the same time we need to be more solid and better defensively.
“Fantastic play, a lot of ‘wow’ moments, a lot of top individual performances, but as a team we need to give less away.”
