Steven Gerrard and Aston Villa can take plenty of positives from defeat to Manchester City

Steven Gerrard is a born winner – that, we will all agree on.

Dropping won’t ever suffice for the person who gained two FA Cups, a UEFA Cup and a Champions League (amongst different titles) as a participant for Liverpool and, after all, the Scottish Premiership with Rangers final season.

That perspective has clearly been transferred into his latest function as Aston Villa head coach, the place he started by successful his first two outings – a 2-0 win over Brighton earlier than beating Crystal Palace 2-1.

Whereas these two fixtures offered sturdy exams towards groups Villa have to be pulling forward of in the event that they’re to progress beneath their new boss (exams which he handed), his third outing was towards a special beast altogether.

In opposition to an irrepressible Manchester Metropolis – who evidently have severe ambitions of lastly attaining a Premier League and Champions League double – there was little expectation of Gerrard changing into the primary Villa boss in historical past to win his first three video games in cost.

The house followers have been, because it turned out, proper to be pushed extra by hope than expectation on the evening, ultimately dropping 2-1 to a devastating Metropolis aspect. Their dominant high quality turned evident throughout the opening two minutes, by which period the guests had two clear-cut alternatives to tug forward.

In reality, the primary half was utter domination. The staggering management, composure and ruthlessness contained inside each aspect of Pep Guardiola’s aspect’s play merely overwhelmed Villa.

Because of this, by the midway level, Metropolis have been 2-0 up. The primary aim was a results of the overloads on the wings, giving Raheem Sterling the chance and subsequent confidence to run his full-back ragged and ultimately pull again for Ruben Dias to attain.

The second aim was born out of a shocking incoherence in Villa’s collective urgent and a defensive imbalance. Clearly making an attempt to indicate initiative and press excessive up the pitch, Gerrard’s males have been undone with three passes from field to field.

Ryiad Mahrez wriggled out of a good spot and launched the ball to Fernandinho, who in flip despatched a raking ball into the channel for Gabriel Jesus, who then lofted an ideal cross into the trail of Bernardo Silva to complete with a stunning first-time volley.

Growth. The right counter assault, made to look easy and simple because of Villa’s incongruous defensive shapes.

You are most likely questioning the place on earth the positives will be discovered, proper?

Nicely, these would seem all through the second half.

Clearly popping out for the second interval with an amended form, an altered perspective and an added depth, it was the house aspect who dominated for big components.

It took the hosts beneath 90 seconds to get again into the sport courtesy of an excellent Ollie Watkins end. Thereafter, Metropolis might have continued to benefit from the lion’s share of possession, nevertheless it was Villa who regarded the extra threatening.

Douglas Luiz was pulled right into a wider space to, firstly, stifle the huge risk of Joao Cancelo and Mahrez, and secondly, discover more room to stamp his artistic mark on proceedings. The Brazilian was key to Villa’s dominance within the second interval, spreading play fantastically and ultimately leaving the sphere with 5 key passes to his identify – together with the help to the aforementioned Watkins strike.

The opposite important tweaks proved to be shifting the huge forwards nearer to Watkins, permitting Villa far more alternative for management when firing the ball into their frontman and due to this fact the instruments to construct play a lot increased up the pitch.

Whereas Marvelous Nakamba was sitting deep earlier than the interval, he was urgent aggressively throughout the second half, for instance, due to this fact taking the sport to Metropolis quite than inviting stress.

Usually talking, half time was the turning level within the match. It confirmed that Gerrard is aware of what he is doing at this stage and, really, is ready to compete with the very best on the earth.

His decisive and courageous administration utterly altered the momentum of Wednesday evening’s conflict and, have been it not for teen Carney Chukwuemeka fluffing his traces when one-on-one with Ederson, the Villans would probably have been celebrating a degree towards the Champions.

Alas, it wasn’t to be. However the truth that Villa can really feel disappointment at a slim 2-1 defeat to this Metropolis aspect is proof of the development and shift already occurring beneath Gerrard – and Wednesday evening offered many extra positives to take from Villa’s new regime.