Phil and Emi a Cout above for Gerrard
PHILIPPE Coutinho can lift Aston Villa to the next level says boss Steven Gerrard.
And he’s already excited by the way his new signing combined with Emi Buendia in their 2-2 comeback draw against Manchester United.
The Villans trailled 2-0 when the Brazilian came off the bench to make a major impact on the match.
He helped to create the first goal and knocked in the equaliser himself on a fantastic debut.
Gerrard thinks Coutinho’s arrival is great news for Buendia rather than someone who might take his place in the side.
But the gaffer reckons they will unpick plenty of defences together.
He said: “I think people on the outside might have been wondering when Phil arrived what it meant for other players in the team and the squad.
“But we want as many good players here as we can, we want players who can play together.
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“Buendia and Coutinho have been shining in training together and they obviously get on well with the South American connection.
“We haven’t brought anyone in to replace Buendia, he’s a big player for us and he’s going to contribute and help us a lot moving forward.”
While Coutinho got the headlines, Gerrard was haof Buendia.
He added: “He was my personal man of the match. OK, there were a few things within the performance that I’m sure Emi will try and improve, that’s the sort of kid and character we’re talking about.
“He epitomised what I wanted from the performance.
“He was competing for headers, he was sliding and won everything he could out of possession.
“He died on the pitch, he was getting kicked and some of his football was terrific.
“Just that real energy and passion and fight, committing to a gameplan, I was absolutely delighted with Emi and he’s been getting better and better each week.
“We’ve sat him down and spoken with him about certain situations but I really loved his performance.
“He epitomised everything that I want to stand for.”
Gerrard was delighted with the way his side bounced back against United.
He said: “If we want to take this team and go on this positive journey we need to show it over 90 minutes so that is the big lesson.”