Steven Gerrard cut a frustrated figure after Aston Villa let two points slip through their grasp against Crystal Palace.
The head coach felt his side had the game exactly where they wanted it when Ollie Watkins opened the scoring after 69 minutes.
However, Gerrard and his side were made to settle for a point after Jeffrey Schlupp equalised in the final ten minutes.
He said: “We’re two teams fighting it out in the middle of the table, so we knew it was going to be a close game.
“They’re a dangerous opponent and they caused us a few issues, but we improved drastically in the second half.
“Over the course of the game, I believe we created the better chances we just couldn’t take them and we could only score one today.
“We had the game where we wanted it, but we couldn’t see it out. We’ve been naive, given a foul away and we haven’t defended that situation well enough.
“We’ve only got ourselves to blame, so we’re slightly more frustrated than our opposition.”
A cagey game with few clear-cut opportunities burst into life after Watkins’ goal, and it ended with tackles flying in and a flurry of Villa chances in stoppage time.
The lively end to proceedings pleased Gerrard, who wants to see his side make life uncomfortable for every team that visits B6.
“That’s what the game’s about – duels. John McGinn and Wilfried Zaha were having a go,” he said.
“That’s the way we want to be. We want teams to feel us when they come to Villa Park, we want to be competitive in the right way.
“We did a lot of things right today and we managed to get the game in our hands.
“With a bit of naivety and not defending a set play, two points have been stolen away.”
Watch the full interview with Gerrard below...
