Steven Gerrard felt there were plenty of positives on show as Aston Villa overcame Leeds United in the Queensland Champions Cup on Sunday.
It was a tale of two penalties for the Villans – Philippe Coutinho seeing his saved before Danny Ings made no mistake from the spot – during a 1-0 victory at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
Twenty-one players got valuable minutes in the tank in Brisbane, including a first outing for Boubacar Kamara, leaving Gerrard more than content.
“We’ve got the win, we’ve got the clean sheet,” he said.
“I was really happy with a lot of the first half – our organisation, our shape was good, we looked really dangerous on the transition. There were a lot of positive things.
“Second half got a bit scrappy. We could have stayed on the ball a little bit longer and shown a bit more style.
“Having said that, I thought we defended extremely well. We gave one or two chances away but Robin Olsen was really big for us.
“The new signings were positive, we’re healthy and we’ve come through the game, so we move on and I’m sure we’ll take a lot from the game.”
A crowd of 40,918 were in attendance to see the Premier League sides go head-to-head, with plenty of claret and blue on show.
And Gerrard acknowledged the great reception his side have been given during their time in Australia.
He said: “The turnout was really healthy and they got behind the team. It was great to see everyone.
“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.”
