Ings sends Burnley to the brink
Relegation looms after Gerrard tactics pay off
STEVEN GERRARD hasn’t been in the management game long but the way he devised a plan to nullify Burnley’s trademark 4-4-2 went a long way to inflicting a first defeat on Clarets interim Mike Jackson.
Make no mistake, Burnley are back in relegation trouble despite a run of 10 points out of 12 immediately following Sean Dyche’s dismissal.
Jackson had always insisted he didn’t have a magic wand. Yesterday it was Gerrard who pulled off all the tricks, putting Philippe Coutinho on the bench for the first time since his Villa debut, employing central defender Calum Chambers as a deep-lying midfielder and giving Emiliano Buendia freedom to play through the lines.
Burnley didn’t have any answers. It was a strangely non-aggressive performance from the famed relegation battlers who were also disheartened to see key defender James Tarkowski limp off early in the second half.
Villa got the ideal start when their ex-Burnley striker Danny Ings opened the scoring with a tidy finish after seven minutes.
The excellent Buendia added a second before half-time and by the time Ollie Watkins powered in a third Villa goal in front of watching England manager Gareth Southgate, the contest was over.
Clarets sub Maxwel Cornet announced his return from injury with the final goal of the game, a consolation in injury-time, but even that didn’t cheer the mood of the watching Test cricketer Jimmy Anderson who grew up in Burnley and is a big fan.
Having climbed out of the bottom three only recently, the Clarets will be back there today should Everton beat Leicester and Leeds get a point against Arsenal.
‘You have to prepare for Burnley.
They are obviously a real powerful team. It was the reason we put
Calum in to give us more of that profile,’ said Gerrard, who took over at Villa in November.
‘The majority of the game pleased me. I thought we were stronger and better in every department. I wouldn’t argue Emi was man of the match. His service was outstanding.
‘The goals we scored were outstanding against a team in a good place with a new manager bounce.’
The raucous pre-match atmosphere at Turf Moor spoke volumes for the impact Jackson has made and three consecutive wins.
Yet they seemed bemused by the 4-1-3-2 deployed by their
opponents, and never really got to grips with it.
The first slick interchange led to the opening goal after seven minutes and involved John McGinn, Douglas Luiz and finally Buendia who threaded a pass to Ings. Burnley defender Nathan Collins couldn’t keep pace and Ings slotted a left-foot finish into the bottom corner. It was his fourth consecutive goal against his former club but he didn’t make a show of it out of respect.
‘I am sure Danny had mixed emotions. Burnley was good for him but I’m not surprised it was a ruthless finish,’ added Gerrard.
Burnley had come from behind to win at Watford last week and did get Villa goalkeeper Emiiano Martinez to make five saves in the first half, but a cutting edge was missing.
Wout Weghorst missed with a shot on the turn and a header, while McNeil was guilty of shooting straight at Martinez when inside the area.
At the other end, Villa showed how it was done to strike again after 31 minutes.
Ings fed Watkins who found Lucas Digne on the overlap. The Frenchman cut back for Buendia whose low first-time finish wrongfooted Nick Pope.
It was only Buendia’s third goal for Villa since a £33million move from Norwich last summer and vindicated Gerrard’s decision to give him rather than Coutinho the playmaker’s role at Turf Moor.
The home side received a blow early in the second half when Tarkowski limped off to be replaced by Kevin Long. With club captain Ben Mee also out injured, it gave the back line an unfamiliar look.
The makeshift personnel were no match for a great Villa counter that made it 3-0. Digne found McGinn charging down the right and the Scot delivered the perfect cross that curled away from Pope into the path of Watkins to meet with a downward header.
Jackson sent on Cornet for the final third with the exciting Frenchman having missed Burnley’s last couple of wins because of injury. He rounded Martinez and fired into the roof of the net in injury-time — a consolation that could still be important if goal difference comes into play.
Burnley will support Leicester and Arsenal today but Jackson’s glass remains half-full about staying in the Premier League.
‘If I was going to take any group into this, it would be them,’ said Jackson.
‘The league didn’t finish today and I have told the players they will look back at the game in the first half and it won’t be as bad as they think. This group has done it before. We focus on the three games to go.’
BURNLEY (4-4-2): Pope 6; Roberts 6, Collins 5.5, Tarkowski 6.5 (Long 47min, 6), Taylor 6; McNeil 6.5, Brownhill 7, Cork 6, Lennon 5.5 (Cornet 66, 6.5); Barnes 6 (Pieters 73), Weghorst 5.5. Booked: Brownhill. Subs (not used): Hennessey, Lowton, Bardsley, Stephens, Thomas, Costelloe. ASTON VILLA (4-1-3-2): Martinez 7; Cash 6.5, Konsa 6, Mings 6.5, Digne 7; Chambers 6.5 (Chukwuemeka 68, 7); McGinn 7, Buendia 8 (Coutinho 79), Luiz 6.5; Watkins 7, Ings 7 (Young 74). Booked: Digne, Watkins. Subs (not used): Olsen, Sanson, Nakamba, Iroegbunam, Coutinho, Traore, Feeney. Referee: D Coote (Nottinghamshire) 6.